Writer's Block
by gracia.michelle
Summary: AU/AH Damon Salvatore is a famous author with a deteriorating public image. Elena Gilbert is a young and ambitious journalist. The only thing they have in common is their love for the written word. One day, their lives intersect and Elena soon realizes that there's more to Damon than what meets the eye. Will she be able to unravel the mystery that is Damon Salvatore?
1. Extensions

_AN: Hey! So I've been reading a lot of the all human stories and I have to say I really like them. So I wanted to give it a shot myself. I got a few ideas from a friend of mine and I just started writing it down. I have about two chapters done already but this is an experimental piece. That means I really want to know what you think of the story and what you think I could do to improve it. Constructive criticism is welcome. I'll be honest with you and tell you that I have no idea where this story is headed and I would like suggestions on that as well. So when you're done reading this tell me what you think by either leaving a review or sending me a PM._

Damon Salvatore sat in his study with his laptop open on the desk in front of him. He was staring at the blank page of a text editor trying to think of what he wanted to write about in his next novel. This was all strange to him. Never in his life had he had to sit around and think about what he wanted to write. Usually, he would just start typing and the story would simply form itself in his head and he would put it into words. But after staring at a blank page for six days in a row, he was forced to accept the truth - he was having a case of writer's block.

He looked at the time on his laptop screen and saw that it was already 10 pm. He groaned and put his head in his hands. He had promised his editor and sister in law, Caroline Forbes, that he would have at least a prologue written for a new book by the next morning. He picked up his phone and scrolled down his contacts until he found Caroline's number and placed a call. She picked up on the second ring and by the sound of her voice, she had already been asleep. "What do you want Damon?" she asked. In the background he could hear his brother, Stefan asking her, "Is that Damon?"

Damon spoke hesitantly, "Remember how I was supposed to deliver the basic storyline for my next novel? Well, I'm not going to be ready tomorrow." As he spoke, he mentally prepared himself for the wrath that he knew Caroline was about to unleash upon him.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline no longer sounded sleepy, she sounded angry. "What do you mean it won't be ready by tomorrow? I'm supposed to talk to the publishers about this on the day after tomorrow." Caroline worked as an editor for Universal Publishers who published Damon's books. Caroline had first read Damon's work five years ago and had thought it was simply amazing and decided to take it to the decision makers at Universal Publishers and they had loved the book too. They had even decided to let Caroline be Damon's editor. Six months later Damon's book, "Child of Darkness", had been published and it debuted on the bestsellers list at number 2 in the first week, moved to number 1 the next and stayed there for 5 more weeks before it slowly moved down in position.

Damon's last book had been released 18 months earlier and just like all six books before it, "Transformed" made it to the top of the bestsellers list. Universal Publishing had initially signed a deal with Damon to publish three books and following their success, his deal had been extended in increments of three. Damon was yet to deliver two more books to complete his end of the bargain and the large time gap was making his publishers anxious. So, knowing of Caroline's connections to Damon, they had put her in charge of making sure that he completed the next two novels as quickly as he could.

"Can you get me an extension?" asked Damon feeling like a school student trying to convince his teacher that he would complete his assignment, given more time.

"Damon, I've already gotten you an extension twice", said Caroline raising he voice. She could hear him sigh on the other end and she took a deep breath to calm herself. She knew that this wasn't exactly an easy time for Damon. "It's been a year and a half since you've written anything. I know you miss her but she's not coming back. It's time to move on." All she could hear from the other end was the sound of Damon breathing. "I'll talk to them and I'll try to get you that extension but you have to promise me that you'll work hard and get me something that I can show them next week."

"I'll try", said Damon quietly. "Thanks, Caroline."

"Don't disappoint me, Salvatore", said Caroline before she hung up. Damon put the phone back in its place, closed the laptop and slowly made his way to his room. The room that had once been inviting now just felt cold. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he caught sight of a framed picture on his bedside table which showed Katherine, his wife and inspiration holding their then one year old daughter, Sydney, in her arms, beaming up at the camera. They had all been one big happy family at that time. The huge house where he still lived was once filled with joy, laughter and love but now it was always silent. Even Sydney who was once so full of life and energy seemed more subdued. He didn't know whether she missed her mother or if she was reacting to his persistent gloomy mood.

Damon turned off the lights and lay on his side of the bed despite the fact that it had been almost a year since Katherine had lain by his side. It was these nights that were the worst when sleep evaded him and his thoughts - thoughts of Katherine, Sydney and the last 18 months - haunted him. As he lay there contemplating taking a sleeping pill to help him sleep, he heard the door open. He didn't bother opening his eyes. He knew it was Sydney paying him one of her midnight visits. After all, she was the reason why he always left his door open just a crack. As he heard her soft footsteps close to his bed, he held the sheets open for her. Climbing up, Sydney settled underneath the blanket and curled her body right next to Damon. "Nightmare?" he asked her. The little girl didn't answer. She just pulled herself closer to him. Damon leaned forward and kissed her forehead and said, "Good night, Sydney."

"Good night, Daddy", mumbled Sydney as she fell asleep. Damon stayed up a little longer to make sure she was asleep and then carried her back to her room and tucked her under her blankets. He sat on a chair in her room watching her sleep peacefully. He wondered how long these nightmares of hers would last and then he wondered how long she'd been having them. He made a mental note to ask Caroline about it later. He sat there for a few minutes longer and then satisfied that she wasn't going to wake up any time soon, he got up and headed to bed himself. He wanted to wake up bright and early the next morning and get some work done so he would have something to show Caroline soon. He fell asleep hoping that his writer's block would magically disappear the next day.

-xx-

The next morning Elena Gilbert sat at her desk tapping her pencil at the edge of her notebook. She was one of the youngest employees of the local newspaper but she was just so good that they gave her a column every week in Sunday's supplementary paper. She was only 23 but she was already doing well. She had won a number of awards for her articles with the people she looked up to calling her work inspired. But today for some reason, inspiration just wasn't coming to her. She had a million ideas popping into her mind but the minute she started trying to write something, her thoughts would just evaporate and she would draw a blank. She was starting to get extremely frustrated when her roommate and best friend, Bonnie Bennett sat down on the seat across her table. "Still no luck?" she asked.

"I just can't seem to make up my mind. Any time I pick something I like, I end up not being able to write about it", said Elena.

"Maybe it's just a wr-"

"Don't say it!" said Elena almost jumping out of her seat. She did not want to believe that she might have writer's block. She had told herself that it was impossible; she had never had it before.

"Come on, Elena", said Bonnie, "every writer hits a block sometime or the other in her career. It's not going to help if you're living in denial land."

Elena sighed and tossed her notebook on the table and with a look of desperation on her face said, "What am I going to do? I have to get this article in by evening tomorrow and I can't come up with a decent idea!"

Bonnie gave Elena her most mischievous smile and said, "I might have an idea." Elena sat up immediately. "Do you know Damon Salvatore?" Elena shot her look as if to say, "Who doesn't?" and Bonnie continued, "I just heard that he's getting started on a new book. The newspaper wants someone to do an interview with him but no one wants to. You can have it for your column if you want it."

"Why doesn't anyone else want to interview him?"

"Everyone always says really nice things about him in their articles but apparently in the last year or so he's been a nightmare to deal with. He doesn't show up to interviews on time, refuses to answer questions and he even demanded that an article be pulled after an interview went badly. His publishing house convinced the newspaper to drop the article. Now, no one wants to go anywhere near him but his reputation to the outside world is still intact which means that when his book drops, it's going to be a huge deal. This interview could be exactly what you need."

"There's just one problem. I've never interviewed someone before. I wouldn't even know what to ask him."

"Relax, you'll figure it out. After all, you are his number one fan", said Bonnie getting up from her seat. "I'll give our boss the good news." Bonnie disappeared before Elena could stop her. She shook her head thinking of how Bonnie had managed to get her to do exactly what she wanted her to do. Instead of spending too much time thinking about it, Elena turned on her laptop and made a note of all the questions that popped into her head. She googled "Damon Salvatore" and went through forums to see what most fans wanted to know. She looked at her list of questions and smiled to herself. She just had to structure this interview well and she might actually be able to pull this off! Bonnie's voice broke her concentration when she said, "Hey, Elena? That interview with Damon is at 4 pm today at Grove Hill Hotel."

"What?" asked Elena in shock. She looked at her watch and it was already noon. She had just enough time to grab lunch, think this interview through and then get there on time. She printed her questions out and then found her recorder and put them both into her handbag along with her notebook and rushed out of the office. Elena had a busy day ahead and she was more nervous that she had ever been in her whole life.

-xx-

The entire morning had been a complete waste again. He still hadn't written anything and his publishers had already had interviews lined up for him in an effort to pressure him into writing something. The only flaw in their plan was the fact that it wasn't going to work at all. He heard the clock in his study chime. Was it noon already? He went to the kitchen to see Elisa, Sydney's nanny and their house keeper, setting up the table. "Lunch is almost ready", she said as soon as saw Damon. "I'll be done by the time you get that little rug rat down here."

"Thanks, Elisa", said Damon and walked up to Sydney's room. Sydney was sitting at her little table hosting a tea party for her stuffed animals. As he stepped into the room, the little girls face lit up with a huge smile and Damon sat down on the floor next to her asking, "Are you hosting a tea party?" When she nodded he pointed at one of her teddy bears sitting in the far corner of the room and asked, "Why isn't he here with the rest of your guests?"

"Because Wally was being mean and he has no manners so he gets a time out", said Sydney very seriously. This just made Damon laugh. "Elisa says lunch is ready", he said as he got up and held his hand out for her. She quickly grabbed on to his hand and followed him out of her room and to the kitchen. "You're going to start school in a couple of days, aren't you?" he asked Sydney.

Sydney couldn't handle the excitement. She started jumping up and down when school was mentioned. "I'm a big girl now", she said. "I'm going to school with all the other big girls and I'll make lots of new friends."

"You'll learn lots of new things too", added Damon. When the two arrived at the table, Damon helped her into her chair and then took his seat and they began eating in silence until Sydney spoke up, "Daddy, can we go out after lunch?"

"I don't think so, baby. I have to meet someone and Aunt Caroline has to come with me. You'll have to ask Uncle Stefan."

"What about after you come back?" she persisted.

"If it's not too late, we can go somewhere." This seemed to pacify her. "Where do you want to go?"

"The carnival!" she said getting excited again, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Is that how we behave at the table?" asked Damon sternly.

"I'm sorry", apologized Sydney and then she continued, "I want to go on all the rides and I want to eat cotton candy" she said with a huge grin on her face. Sydney continued to chatter on animatedly about everything that she would do at the carnival and Damon quietly listened to her. It was nice to see her excited about something again. After lunch, he took her over to Stefan's house where he met with Caroline. After Caroline had lectured him on proper interview conduct, they said their good byes to Stefan and Caroline and made their way to Grove Hill Hotel.

Caroline had made sure that Damon was ahead of time for this interview. She was there not just as moral support but also to make sure that he didn't completely make a mess of it like the last couple of times. The journalist who was supposed to interview Damon was already there by the time they reached. When they got closer to their table, Caroline got a good look at the interviewer and squealed, "Elena!" Damon instinctively took a step backwards and away from the woman. He loved his sister in law but sometimes she still acted like a teenager. He stood awkwardly while the two girls hugged and everyone else stared. When they were seated, Caroline introduced him to Elena telling him, "Elena is a very good friend of mine. She didn't want to be forced to play by the rules of any publishing house so she decided to freelance but you're working for the paper now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. I have a weekly column. I thought it would be a great idea to interview Damon for this week's article."

"This is perfect!" said Caroline. "Damon hasn't done an interview in about a year now so you interviewing him would be great; much better than some other nosy journalist."

"It's actually my first interview so I'm sorry if this ends up being weird."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll make sure this guy here answers all your questions and doesn't do anything stupid while he's at it."

Damon sat quietly all the while listening to the two girls talk. There was something about this interviewer that was making him really uncomfortable. Sure, she seemed nice. She was confident but she wasn't obnoxious. She had Caroline's seal of approval which was extremely difficult to get. But then, she reminded him of the one person he did not want to think of. Her soft brown hair wasn't all that different from Katherine's and neither were her brown eyes. He was starting to feel like he couldn't breathe. He took deep breaths trying to calm himself. He barely heard the two of them talking when he felt Caroline's hand on his shoulder. She was looking at him, concerned. "Are you alright?" she asked. He simply nodded and that seemed to be good enough for her. "You two should probably get started because if you let me, I'm just going to keep talking."

Elena then turned her attention to Damon. She had to admit, Damon did look intimidating in that moment. His bright blue eyes were trained on here waiting for her to ask her questions. She started off shakily asking him why he hadn't published a book in a year. His only answer was, "I had things to deal with. My writing was turning out to be a distraction", he said. His tone caught her by surprised. She thought Damon sounded almost angry, like he was offended that she asked him that question. She wondered if she was just imagining it but one look at Caroline's face told her otherwise. The rest of the interview didn't go much better but it didn't get worse. He answered all of her questions although his tone indicated that he wasn't happy doing so. When her time was up, she was grateful. Caroline bid her good bye with an apologetic smile.

The minute Caroline and Damon stepped into the car, she asked him, "What do you think you were doing?"

"I answered all her questions, didn't I?"

"You did but I'm pretty sure she's going to trash you in her article and I wouldn't blame her if she did."

"Am I supposed to care about that?" he asked.

"Yes, you should."

"Now what would be the point of that?" he asked, interrupting her. Caroline just huffed and opted to keep quiet for the duration of the ride home. When they reached and stepped out of the car, Caroline stopped him before he could enter the house. "What?" he asked.

"Damon, you need to find a way to deal with everything. If you don't want to talk to me, you can talk to Stefan. He's worried about you too. It's time to put your life back together if not for you, then for Sydney. She doesn't deserve a father who could potentially ruin her life. Her mother already did a pretty good job at that." With that Caroline walked away. Damon stood outside for a minute and watched as Sydney ran to Caroline to greet her. She was covered in flour. It looked like Stefan was trying to bake something with her. He watched the ease with which she interacted with Stefan and Caroline. He felt a little pang in his heart when he realised that she wasn't that way around him and he couldn't blame her. He thought that by going in right then, he would just be bringing everyone's spirits down. So instead, he walked to the koi pond Stefan had recently installed in his backyard and sat down beside it watching the fish swim aimlessly about. He kept thinking back to his interview with Elena. She had reminded him of Katherine but at the same time, he could tell that they were two very different people. He probably shouldn't have been that rude. She had even mentioned that it was her first time doing an interview. He should have been a little more considerate. He decided to send Elena an apology note to her work address the next day. The decision didn't do much to assuage his guilt but he hoped acting on it might help.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't realise Stefan was sitting right next to him until he place a hand on his shoulder. Stefan handed him a beer and said, "Caroline told me about the interview. Want to talk about it?"

"Not really", answered Damon.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get any details from his brother, Stefan changed the topic. "Why didn't you come inside? Sydney couldn't wait to show you the biscuits we made."

"You have a lot of questions, don't you? It's no wonder you became a lawyer."

"You're deflecting."

Damon sighed. "You know, Sydney's never that happy when she's with me. She seems a lot more comfortable with you and Caroline."

"You can't really be surprised by that. She spent a lot of time with us over the last year." Stefan realised what he had just said and quickly corrected himself saying, "I don't mean to say it's your fault. You did the best you could. You're still her father and she still loves you. I mean, the girl can't stop talking about you!" Damon managed a small smile. "Just give her some time, Damon", continued Stefan. "She'll warm up to you again."

"I hope so."

-xx-

Bonnie was upon her as soon as Elena got back from her interview. "How did it go?" she asked.

"Not as bad as I expected it. He answered all my questions but I have a feeling that was only because Caroline was there. He was completely cold and rude", she said with a huff. "How could someone like that write beautiful novels like this?" she asked picking up a copy of "Transformed" that lay on her table.

"Back up a minute. Caroline was there?"

"She's his editor and she's also married to his brother."

Bonnie's eyes widened. "How didn't I know this?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you spent the whole of Caroline's wedding weekend attached to my brother." Bonnie blushed bright red. "Anyway, I don't remember seeing him or hearing about him at her wedding."

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders and just said, "Maybe. I should let you get to work on your article. See you at home?" Elena nodded and Bonnie left for the day. Elena opened her laptop once more and started typing furiously on it. When she was done, she emailed a copy to her boss and decided to call it a night. As she walked to her car, she wondered if she was being too rude to Damon in her article but she knew she wasn't. She wrote what she felt and what she saw. She wasn't making anything up. If it really was rude, she was sure that the paper wouldn't publish it. But she had to admit that something good did come out of her interview. Words flowed freely through her mind once more and she was able to write again. She already had a backup article planned just in case they didn't want to go through with her interview with Damon. Satisfied with everything she had managed to complete that day, Elena drove home.


	2. Uncertainity

_AN: If it looks like I'm kinda lost with this story line, it's probably because I am lost. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I'm going to try my best to update this every weekend. Although I'm not making any promises. So here's chapter 2. I hope you like it._

Damon lay awake again that night. It had been late by the time they left the carnival and so they had decided to stay at Stefan's house since it was closer. He stared at the ceiling for a while his brain created patterns that weren't even there. He spent most of the night tossing and turning but sleep just wouldn't come to him. At around 6 am, he gave up on sleep and went down to the living room and opened his laptop. He didn't want to spend another day just staring at an empty page but Caroline was right. He needed to try harder. He decided that he wasn't going to over think things this time. He decided to just write everything that came to his mind and at the end of the day he would see if he could make any of what he had written work. A few minutes later, Sydney walked down the stairs to join him on the couch. "Up already?" he asked her. She just nodded and snuggled closer to Damon laying her head on his lap and within minutes, she was asleep again and Damon went back to his writing.

He didn't realise how much time had passed until he felt Stefan's hand on his shoulder. It had been an hour since he had started writing and much to his surprise, he had one page written. He quickly scanned what he had written and let out a loud groan. There was no way he could use that in a book. The best he could do was to use what he had written as his lead character's back story. "You're writing again?" Stefan asked with Caroline standing next to him. "Making any progress?" Sydney was starting to stir as well and she sat up, hearing all the noise.

"I'm not sure yet", answered Damon.

Caroline moved behind the couch Damon was sitting on and started reading over his shoulder. "This is really good, Damon. I'm not saying it's as good as the things you've written before but it's a start."

Damon nodded and said, "I know. But it's just getting really frustrating. I've never had this much trouble writing before." He looked down when he felt Sydney tugging at the sleeve of his t-shirt. "Can you please read it to me, Daddy?" she asked him.

"Maybe when I've written a little more", said Damon. Sydney looked up at him with her big blue eyes silently pleading with him to read to her. "I promise that when I do have a story I will read it to you. You'll be the first person to ever hear the story. How does that sound?" asked Damon but Sydney still looked at him with her puppy dog eyes and Damon knew that he was already loosing this battle. How could he ever deny his little girl anything? He tried bargaining with her again. "How about this, if you agree to wait a little longer before I tell you this story, then I'll tell you a story of me and your uncle Stefan when were kids as we get you ready."

Sydney's eyes lit up again, "Where are we going?"

"We'll have breakfast with Aunt Caroline and Uncle Stefan and then we'll go back home and then we'll go to the mall. We still have to get you a few things before you start going to school on Monday."

Sydney agreed happily and ran up the stairs ready for a whole new day. After making sure that both Sydney and Damon were out of earshot, Caroline asked Stefan, "Doesn't it worry you that after everything that's happened Damon's basing another character on Katherine? I mean it isn't obvious but the woman in the story is cold and she keeps the rest of the world at an arm's length and yet she's somehow fragile. That's Katherine in Damon's head!"

"It does, Caroline. But what am I supposed to do? He loved her and she's Sydney's mom. Right now, he's just confused as to what he really feels for her. I don't think he's ready to let go of her yet."

"That's the problem. She's already gone and for Sydney's sake I hope she never comes back. I never thought I'd say this about anyone but that girl is better off without her mother. What does Damon see in her anyway?"

"I'm guessing he sees a little bit of him in her. Sure, he would never abandon Sydney and he's probably always going to go out of his way to make sure that she's healthy and happy but he's just as stubborn as she is."

"I just hope this ends well."

"I hope so too."

-xx-

Saturday had passed by in a blur for Damon. Sydney had spent the entire day on a high, talking about everything she would do at school. Sunday had also been pretty much the same. The only difference was that he had started his day at 7 am when Sydney had woken him up by jumping up and down on the bed beside him. He had read Elena's article and saw that she had covered everything that he had told her. In addition she had written a little about the meeting itself. Caroline was right, the article didn't show him in the best light but he was expecting that and he didn't really worry about it.

It was now Monday and Sydney's excitement still hadn't died down. He just couldn't figure out where the kid got all that energy from. Damon and Sydney were sitting inside Sydney's new classroom waiting for the teacher to arrive. He remembered he had wanted to leave an apology note for Elena. For a minute he contemplated if he should. She hadn't really been very nice to him in the article so maybe he could just call it even. But then he remembered how angry Caroline had been with him at the end of the meeting and knowing Caroline and the fact that she and Elena had been friends once upon a time, he knew that he would probably end up running into her at some social event or the other. Making up his mind, he called the florist, identified himself and told them exactly what he wanted written on the card and also told them who to deliver it to. After he had hung up, he wondered without humour if he should out the florist on speed dial.

They were still the only ones in the class. He walked around the class looking at the pictures and charts that hung on the classroom wall while Sydney did a little exploring on her own. The school he had selected for Sydney was the best in the city. In true elitist school fashion, they laid down several rules for students and also guidelines for parents to ensure that the students kept to those rules. One of those rules mandated that both parents meet the teacher on the first day. His separation from Katherine was no secret. In fact, it was quite the opposite - it was something that the whole world knew but for some reason he just hadn't been able to bring himself to put that down on the application. Slowly more kids arrived with their parents and Damon and Sydney took their seats in the last row. He soon realised that Sydney was the only student who was accompanied by only one parent.

One of the parents even came up to him and introduced himself as a huge fan. Damon smiled and pretended to be interested in what he was saying. He only got Damon's attention when he ended his monologue saying, "I'm surprised they didn't mind that you and your wife are separated. There have been rumours that they don't accept children from broken homes unless the missing parent is dead. Schools like this apparently accept only kids who they are sure will be able to do well in life. I'm glad that isn't true." Damon just nodded politely but he was lost in thought again. For the first time, he started to wonder if this school really was the best place for Sydney.

The kindergarten class teacher soon arrived and introduced himself as Matt Donovan. He seemed like a friendly person, the kind of person kids would feel comfortable around. He spoke about what the school's methods and how they would help the children. His well-rehearsed speech seemed to go on for hours and Damon was starting to feel sleepy and he could see that most of the other parents were in the same state. When Matt finally concluded his speech telling the parents that the students would remain in the class with a couple of other teachers who assisted him while he spoke to the parents in person, Damon was relieved. He waved good bye to Sydney and went to an empty classroom with the other parents. He sat at one of the desks tapping his feet impatiently until it was finally his turn. "Mr. Salvatore?" asked Matt to get Damon's attention.

Damon got to his feet and said, "Yes. I'm Damon Salvatore, Sydney's father."

"And the missus?"

"She couldn't make it. Sydney's mom isn't really in the picture", said Damon by way of explanation.

"It's mandatory for teachers here to be in contact with both parents. We don't really mind that you're separated; we make it a point not to stick our noses where they belong. But it can be very helpful in cases like yours. Her mother wouldn't be forced to contact you in order to know how Sydney's doing in school. We'll keep both of you updated."

"Trust me, Katherine couldn't care less."

"I'm sorry to hear that but with kids as young as Sydney, we are responsible for their safety. I would get into a lot of trouble if a woman turns up and claims to be her mother."

"If anyone does turn up, just call me and I'll sort it out."

"Mr Salvatore, if you're not willing to follow the rules here how could we expect your daughter to follow them? We can't make allowances for any of the students."

"You know what? I had a moment of doubt as to whether this school would be a good place for my daughter but I don't anymore. I'll just get Sydney and we'll leave. I'm sorry for wasting your time", said Damon as he got up from his seat.

"Mr Salvatore, you really should rethink this. Are you sure you're willing to take Sydney out of school just so you and her mother don't have to be in the same room for a few minutes?"

"I'm positive that I am." Damon went back to the classroom and found Sydney already playing with a few of the other students. She seemed to be enjoying herself and that made Damon pause. He heard Matt say behind him, "She's adjusting really well and it looks like she's made friends already. Do you really want to ruin this for her?" Damon ignored Matt and walked right up to Sydney and kneeling down, he said to her, "It's time to go home Sydney."

"But we just got here", she whined.

"I know, sweetheart but this just isn't working out. We'll work something else out." Sydney looked confused and Damon tried to do a better job at explaining it to her. "I know you like it here but you can't come here anymore. We'll get you a tutor at home or maybe you can join a different school."

"But why can't I come here anymore?" she asked.

Damon didn't want to bring up Katherine. She had been out of their life for a while. "You just have to trust me on this one okay?" he asked instead.

"Okay", said Sydney as she grabbed her bag and walked out of the school with him. Damon helped her into the car and then started to make his way home. He couldn't help but notice that Sydney had been quiet the whole time. He looked at the rear view mirror and caught sight of her and he had to admit, she looked sad. He wondered if he should have tried calling Katherine before pulling her out of school.

On arriving home, Sydney went straight to her room as soon as she got out of the car. After letting Elisa know that Sydney was home, he went to her room to find her sitting on the edge of her bed talking to her teddy bear about what had happened in school. He went in and sat down next to her but she ignored him and continued talking to the bear. After listening to her for a while, he nudged her and asked, "Are you going to talk to me?" Sydney shook her head no and went back to her conversation with her bear. He decided to give her a little more time and just when he was about to get up to leave, he heard Caroline's voice ask, "Isn't she supposed to be in school."

"Daddy said I can't go there anymore", Sydney answered for him.

"What's going on Damon?" she asked glaring at him. "Please tell me you didn't do something stupid."

"Can we please just not talk about this right now?"

"Why not? I don't think Sydney's very happy with you either and I'd say you owe her an explanation."

"Well, I'm her father and I don't think she's ready to hear it."

"Oh yeah? Where was her father when her mother left her, huh? Where was he on all of those nights she had to spend with me and Stefan?"

"You know what? I can't deal with this right now." Damon pushed his way out of Sydney's room. Caroline and Sydney stared at him as he walked out lost for words. It took Caroline only a minute to decide that she was more angry than confused and she followed Damon and found him sitting at the kitchen counter with his head in his hands. When she walked around to face him, she noticed the glass of bourbon that was in front of him. "What's wrong with you? Are you drinking again?" Caroline was livid.

Damon didn't look up but he answered, "I'm not making a habit out of it, okay? I just need a drink!"

"Damon, look at me", she demanded and he forced himself to look at her. "Why isn't Sydney in school?"

"Because the school wouldn't take her in unless both parents meet with the teacher. Now do you get why I didn't want to say anything in front of Sydney?"

"Oh." Caroline fell silent. The two of them turned to look at Sydney when she spoke up from behind them asking, "Can I go back if momma comes?"

"Sweetheart, you know momma's not coming back", said Damon.

"You don't know that", argued the little girl. "She'll come if I ask her to."

"Sydney, honey, your dad's right", said Caroline trying to reason with her. "You mother isn't going to be able to make it."

Sydney ignored Caroline and addressed Damon again, "Daddy, you said momma loved me right?" Damon nodded unaware of where this conversation was headed. "And you said that if you loved someone you did nice things for them." Damon finally caught on and answered, "Sometimes it's not that easy. I know you don't understand it right now but you will in a few years. I'm sure your mom would love to be there with on your first day of school but the truth is she can't do it."

"Why not?" asked Sydney. Caroline could tell Damon was digging himself into a deep pit but she had no idea how to help him.

"Come here", he signalled her closer and she walked up to him. When she was within reach, he picked her up and sat her down on his lap. "Sydney, I think it's time you heard the truth and the truth is that your mother is not coming back."

Sydney looked like she was about to burst out crying. "But you said-", she started, her voice shaking.

"I know what I said and I really wish it were true. But it's just not going to happen."

Caroline pulled up a chair and sat down across from them. "Your dad's right." The little girl just slipped off Damon's lap and angrily stomped up to her room.

"I'm surprised she even remembers Katherine. I know she's her mother but she hasn't exactly been around in a while."

"At first I was convinced that she would come back so I made sure I talked to Sydney about her everyday so it wouldn't be too weird when Katherine did come back. I guess that was a mistake." He sighed loudly and finished the remainder of his glass. "She doesn't even know her mother but she loves her. I made sure of that." He closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands. Caroline laid a comforting arm on his shoulder trying to sooth him. "You did what you thought was best at the time. None of us could have anticipated Katherine's behaviour."

Damon looked up again. "I should have. I lived with her. The signs were right there in front of me and I chose to ignore it so everything that's happening right now, this whole situation, it's all my fault. To make things worse, I'm dragging Sydney down with me. You were right. She doesn't deserve this." He pushed himself away from the counter and said, "I'm going to try talking to her."

-xx-

Elena pushed open the door to the Grill and immediately spotted her Aunt Jenna sitting at a booth waiting for her. Elena slid smoothly into the booth and Jenna gave her a bright smile putting down the day old newspaper she was holding in her hands. "I just finished reading your article", she said. "And I have to say I loved it."

"You love everything I write", Elena said with a laugh.

"Was he really that bad? I mean you weren't being too mean in that article but I know you. You can't say bad things about anybody."

"He really was that bad. I love his books but Damon Salvatore the person is someone I hope I don't ever meet again. But he did send me a bunch of flowers with an apology note to my office." Elena signalled for a waitress and the two ordered their food.

"I like our weekly lunches together", said Jenna, smiling. "Now that Mike's in school maybe we could have lunch together more than just once a week." When her son Mike had been born, Jenna had quit her job as a researcher in a small company in favour of being a stay at home mom. "Guess who Ric and I ran into when were at Mike's school for that parent-teacher meeting?"

Jenna was in gossip mode and Elena knew she had no choice but to go with it. "Who?" she asked.

"Damon Salvatore."

"What was he doing there?" Elena was now curious.

"His daughter was supposed to join that school."

"Supposed to?" asked Elena raising an eyebrow. Just then the food was served and the two women dug into their food.

Picking up the conversation where they left off, Jenna said, "We were in the parking lot, about to leave and we saw him walk out of there with his daughter. Mike apparently got along with her well before he took her out of class telling her that she couldn't come back."

"I feel sorry for the daughter though", admitted Elena.

"And guess who the teacher was?" asked Jenna.

"Who?"

"Matt Donovan", said Jenna with a laugh.

"Matt Donovan? Are you taking about the Matt I went to high school with and briefly dated?" asked Elena. This wasn't the career path she had expected him to choose. She thought he would probably still be playing football. When Jenna nodded, she said, "That's not what I was expecting at all. From what I remember, Matt used to be so awkward with kids. Remember when Bonnie's cousins used to visit?"

Jenna burst out laughing at a random memory about Matt trying to help Bonnie babysit her cousins. "How are things going with Jeremy and Bonnie?" asked Jenna. It was clear she was officially out of gossip mode.

"Can you keep a secret?" asked Elena. When Jenna nodded, she leaned closer and spoke in a low voice. " Don't tell Bonnie this but I'm pretty sure Jeremy's going to propose to her very soon."

Jenna's eyes widened with glee. "I knew this was going to happen! That boy was smitten the second he laid eyes on her."

"Jenna, the first time Jeremy met Bonnie, he was two years old!" Elena reminded her.

"Oh", said Jenna realizing her mistake. "Well, I guess that was someone else then."

"How is Ric doing?" asked Elena, switching the subject. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"He's the same. He's very happy, you know? He loves his job." Jenna always had a dreamy look on her face when she started talking about her husband, Alaric Saltzmann who worked as a History teacher in the local high school.

"Of course he likes his job", said Elena. "He's practically a high school student himself. I'm sure he fits in really well with all the other students."

Soon the two of them were done with their lunch and Elena looked at her watch and saw that it was time for her to leave. "I really don't feel like going back", she whined.

"Then you should stay", said Jenna brightly.

"I wish I could but I don't really have much of a choice." She got up and giving Jenna a hug, she said, "Bye, Jenna", and made her way back to her office.

The minute she settled down at her desk, she felt her phone vibrate indicating that she had gotten a new message. She turned on the screen and was surprised to see it was from Caroline. It read, "I'm throwing a huge party at our house tonight for my husband's birthday. It would be really nice if you can attend it.i know this is short notice but I really want to catch up with you." She then received a second text from Caroline saying, "Are you still in touch with Bonnie. Do you think you can get her to come too?" Elena walked over to Bonnie's desk and asked her, "Are you up for a party tonight? Caroline's hosting one for her husband's birthday and she wants to catch up with her."

Bonnie who was furiously typing away on her keyboard didn't even bother to look up. She just flashed Elena a thumbs up indicating that she was in. Elena quickly tapped out a response to Caroline who replied with her address and asking them to be there by 7. She looked back at Bonnie and saw that the girl was still typing. "You might want to slow down there a little", she told her friend.

"This guy is just getting on my nerves", answered Bonnie. "I get that he's the manager of a big shot band but would it kill him to give me a proper reply. I mean, he was the one who wanted the paper to do an interview with the band." Bonnie was the assistant to one of the newspaper's top editors, Elijah Mikaelson. The interview that Bonnie was referring to was expected to be a huge deal and so Elijah who had started out as a journalist wanted to do it himself. She spent a few more seconds to type out the email and then she looked up saying, "Done. I just hope it doesn't sound rude though. Elijah would kill me if I screw this up. So party tonight at Caroline's right?" Elena nodded. "When do we leave?" she asked eagerly.

"Slow down there! The party doesn't start until 7pm. You still have to be here for a couple of hours at least", said Elena. Elena was about to walk away when she heard Bonnie ask her, "Who were the flowers from?" Elena shot her a questioning look. "I saw a bunch of flowers on your table in the morning. Who were they from? Do you have a secret admirer I don't know about?" Bonnie asked her seriously.

"No I don't", answered Elena with a laugh. "They were actually from Damon as an apology for his behaviour at the interview." And then Elena realised something. "He's going to be at the party", she said as she visibly deflated.

"Caroline did say huge party", said Bonnie. "You might not even run into him."

"May be I should cancel", said Elena biting her lip.

"You will do no such thing. That party has just turned into the highlight of my day", said Bonnie. "We're going there and we're going to have fun."

"Alright", said Elena. As she was leaving, Bonnie called back out to her, "If you drink too much I will abandon you." Elena couldn't stop grinning as she went back to her desk and got back to work. If she had to be completely honest with herself, despite the fact that she might run into the last person on earth she ever wanted to see, she was looking forward to this party.


	3. Birthday

_AN: I've finally managed to get this last chapter done. College's been really crazy this week! This is what I get for choosing a master's degree over a job. Thank you so much for reviewing, following. I really love hearing from you. So, here's the new chapter. I hope you like it! Let me know what you think._

Damon had finally managed to calm Sydney down. No, that was a lie. He hadn't been able to calm her down. She had been really mad at him and then after lunch, she had fallen asleep and when she woke up, it was like she had decided she wasn't mad at him anymore. He didn't have a clue as to what was going on but he decided to let it go for the night. He filed that conversation away for later. Right now, he was focused on getting her dressed so they could make it to Stefan's birthday party on time. He knew that if he reached their house even a second late, Caroline would kill him despite the fact that there would be witnesses present and knowing Caroline, he knew that there would be a lot of people there. When he finally thought he and Sydney looked presentable enough to keep Caroline happy, he drove them over to Stefan and Caroline's house. He looked at his watch and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they were early even if it was only by 15 minutes.

He turned to Sydney and asked her, "Ready?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically. "I'm always ready for cake", she said.

Damon got out of the car and helped her out of the backseat. "You might have to wait a while", he said. "Uncle Stefan has to actually cut it first."

Together they stepped into the familiar house which now looked almost unrecognizable, decorated in green and gold. Caroline was immediately upon them. She greeted them with a friendly smile and then warning Damon to be nice, she left to talk to someone else. The place was already packed and Damon knew that this was going to be a long night.

-xx-

"Come on, Bonnie. We're going to be late", Elena called out to her roommate. Bonnie was on the phone with Jeremy talking about God knows what. They had been at it for almost half an hour and it was driving Elena up the wall. "Finally", she said when Bonnie hung up.

"What's the big deal?" she asked. "I'm already ready. Who's driving?"

"I am. I can't drink anyway. I have work tomorrow remember?" said Elena.

"Just like the rest of us mere mortals", said Bonnie with a laugh. Elena just shook her head at her friend and grabbing her car keys she walked out the door with Bonnie in tow.

Elena had some trouble finding Caroline's home but when they finally found it, she had to admit, it sure was a sight to behold. The girls timidly walked up to the door which was wide open at that point. The room was packed with people and for a minute, Elena couldn't help but wonder if they were in somebody's house or in some kind of a bar. "Caroline sure knows how to throw a party", she said as they walked in. The food was arranged on the far side of the room and at it's centre was a birthday cake that had already been cut into. At the very end of that side, there was a bartender standing behind a small yet rather crowded bar. There were a few comfortable looking chairs pushed towards the remaining free walls while the middle of was left bare.

Within a minute, Caroline was upon them, smiling at them. "I'm so glad you guys could make it!" she squealed. "I haven't seen you since my wedding", she told Bonnie as she hugged her. She then led them to the bar and got them their drinks and they settled down on one of the few chairs that were available. Soon after they had taken their seats, a little girl ran up to Caroline and asked, "Aunt Caroline, can I have some ice cream?"

"Have you had your dinner yet?" she asked and Sydney shook her head no. "Where's your father?" she asked. Sydney pointed to Damon who was sitting not too far away from them engrossed in a phone conversation. Caroline turned back to the girls and introduced them to Sydney saying, "Sydney, these are my friends Elena and Bonnie. We all went to the same school for a while before I moved out of this town. Do you mind hanging out with them for a few minutes while I talk to your dad?" Sydney nodded shyly but that was enough for her. "Don't go anywhere ok?"

"Okay", repeated Sydney and Caroline marched over to Damon and sat down across from him. Damon noticed her immediately and held up two fingers to let her know that he would be done in a couple of minutes. Caroline looked at her watch and sat there impatiently. To his credit, Damon did end his phone call fairly quickly. The minute he hung up, she said, "What are you doing letting a little girl wander around a packed party? I told you that this wasn't exactly going to be a kid safe zone today."

"I wouldn't have brought her along if I had had a choice. Elisa couldn't be there tonight and I don't trust anyone else enough to leave Sydney alone with them. And to answer your question, I wasn't letting her wander around the place. I knew you were sitting there so when I got the call I told her to go to you and I was watching her until she made it to you safely", he said. It was clear from his tone that Damon was annoyed but she wasn't sure if it was because of her questions or if it had something to do with the phone call. Stefan walked up from behind her and sat on the arm rest of her chair asking, "What's going on? I thought you two were going to try not to rip each others throat's out while we had guests in the house."

"I know", sighed Caroline. "I'm sorry", she said and turned back to Damon. "I promise not to accuse you of anything without talking to you first", she said.

"Thanks", said Damon softly.

"What's wrong?" asked Stefan.

"Nothing", muttered Damon in response. "Nothing that can't wait."

"Who was on the phone?" asked Caroline.

"It was no one", he said not willing to meet Caroline or Stefan's eyes.

"It was Katherine", said Stefan. Damon's lack of response just confirmed it. "I'm in no mood to push it right now but we will talk about this later."

Damon still didn't look up. Caroline grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up, "Let's get some dinner. Sydney's already clamouring for dessert." Damon reluctantly got up and followed the couple. They joined Elena and Bonnie and then going to the food table, they loaded their plates and once again took their seats. Caroline watched as Damon held the plate steady for Sydney while she tried to eat her food. "A buffet was just the worst idea, wasn't it?" she asked.

"She isn't going to eat much either way so don't worry about it", answered Damon. Conversation started to flow smoothly within the group as they talked about work and life and just about everything in between. Damon was quiet most of the time. He just sat and listened and on occasion helped Sydney with her food. He did not miss Caroline and Stefan's many worried glances in his general direction. He initially started counting but in less than 15 minutes, he lost count. When they finally got up to get rid of their plates, Damon whispered to Stefan so no one else would be able to hear him. "Could you and Caroline please stop looking at me like I'm some kind of wounded puppy?" Stefan just shrugged and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

As the hours flew by, Damon noticed Sydney yawning. He looked at his watch and saw it was well past Sydney's usual bedtime. He went to Caroline with the intention of telling her that they would be leaving for the night but instead, she convinced him to spend the night at their place. Damon reluctantly agreed and then took Sydney upstairs to the guest room which had also been her bedroom when Damon wasn't around. He found one of her spare pyjamas and helped her change and then tucked her into bed. He sat down stretched out on the bed and started telling her a bed time story. Before he could finish the story, Sydney was fast asleep. He leaned against the head board and closed his eyes, telling himself he would get back to the party in a few minutes but instead, he fell asleep.

The sound of the door opening woke Damon and he sat up straight. To his surprise, he saw Elena at the door. "I'm sorry", she whispered. "I just needed to step out of the party and Caroline told me the guest rooms were free."

Damon got up, walked outside and closed the door behind him. "The room there", he said pointing to the one opposite to his, "is free."

"Thanks", she said opening the door to the room. She heard Damon opening the door to Sydney's room when she turned around and said to him, "You have a great little girl."

Damon looked back at her and gave her a genuine smile. "I guess I have Caroline to thank for that." He hesitated for a second before he said, "I really am sorry for my behaviour during the interview. I guess I could have handled it better."

"You could have", agreed Elena bluntly. "But apology accepted."

Once again Damon was reminded of how different she was from Katherine. He couldn't help but wonder how two people who looked so much alike could be so different. He had to admit that that

difference drew him to her. Before the rational part of his brain could stop him, he said, "How about a do over?" and he regretted it the minute he said it.

"A do over?" asked Elena lifting an eyebrow.

"Why don't I buy you a drink in a few minutes. I'll be down there in a few more minutes and I can prove to you that I'm not the jerk you met the other day."

Elena thought it over for a very long minute. She knew this wasn't such a great idea. She still wasn't sure if she would like spending any length of time with him. Damon's voice cut through her thoughts saying, "It's just one drink and I promise I won't bite", he said with a smile.

Elena saw no choice but to give in. "Fine", she said. "Give me another 15 minutes. I really do need to get away from all those people for a few minutes and then we'll meet down by the bar."

"Sounds good", said Damon. "See you then", he said and then stepped back into Sydney's room and took his place next to her. The second he closed the door behind him, doubts started to creep in. He wasn't sure what possessed him to ask Elena to let him buy her a drink but now he was convinced that this was a very bad idea, probably even the worst idea he had had in quite some time. He briefly considered standing her up but he knew that that would only make Caroline angry when she eventually found out about it the way she finds out about everything. He looked back down and saw Sydney was fast asleep and he had a feeling that not even a loud marching band playing inside the same room would be able wake her up. He should have expected that. It was way past her bed time and her day had been quite the emotional rollercoaster. He blew out a breath when he realised that he didn't have a good enough reason to avoid meeting Elena. He looked at his watch and saw it was almost time. He leaned down and kissed the little girl's forehead and then forced himself to get up and leave the room. He paused for a minute before he walked out and watched his daughter sleep. She was so peaceful and he wished that he could somehow make sure that that peace would remain after she woke up. He remembered that he needed to talk to her again soon about Katherine too. He felt the familiar urge to protect her from the pain he knew she felt. He found himself wishing he had done things differently. May be if he had fought Katherine a little more on the divorce then may be he could have convinced her to stay and then Sydney would still have both her parents. May be if he had not gone on that drinking binge all those months ago then may be Sydney would still find him approachable. May be... The word haunted him.

He finally managed to close the door behind him and descend the stairs. He found Caroline and told her that Sydney was alone upstairs and she agreed not to let anyone else up there. He looked to the bar and saw Elena already there. He looked at his watch and he saw he was already about 5 minutes late. He quickly walked towards her and when she noticed him, she gave him an uncertain smile. He didn't blame her though. He had given her enough reason to be wary of him. The crowd had thinned out considerably by the bar. He stood next to her and ordered himself a drink and said, "I'm sorry I'm late. I tend to get lost in my own thoughts sometimes."

"Caroline clearly has a tough job", Elena replied not coldly.

"I promised you a drink. So what would you like?" he asked.

"I'm driving so I can't really drink", answered Elena. "I think I'll just have a coke."

He signalled to the bartender and he brought them the drinks. Damon took his own glass and said, "I guess this doesn't count technically."

"How do you reckon that?"

"Well, one, you aren't having a real drink and two, the drinks are free so Caroline's buying, not me."

Elena had to agree. "This is close enough", she said. "Besides, I thought the whole point of this was to prove to me that you aren't the jerk I met a few days ago", she said quoting him back to him.

"I believe you're right", he said. Damon was starting to feel very nervous. He really had no idea what to say or do. "Why don't we sit down and have a normal conversation like normal people?" he suggested.

"I would like that", Elena said. As the two of them settled into their chairs, Elena asked, "How old is Sydney?" She hoped this would be a safer topic.

"She's three although she seems much smarter", said Damon and then he added, "May be I'm just saying that because I'm her father. I'm not sure."

"No, she really is smart. She seems to adore you too", said Elena. When Damon's face lit up, she was sure that she had chosen the best topic for conversation. He clearly loved his daughter. "I'm surprised you're not up there with her right. You seem more like the dad who would guard his daughter with flaming swords", she said with a laugh and to her surprise Damon laughed with her and it wasn't the uncomfortable fake laugh that she was expecting.

"I wish I could protect her from everything. But Sydney's used to me not being around. She spent a lot of time here with Caroline and Stefan so I know she's completely comfortable here. The room she's sleeping in now used to be her room when I wasn't around."

Before she could stop herself she asked, "What do you mean you weren't there?" Damon looked almost sad. He hesitated and she hoped she hadn't pushed her luck too much. "I'm prying. I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that question", she said.

"No it's okay", said Damon. "I get it. You're curious. Everybody is. It's really a miracle that the whole mess has been kept out of the papers as long as it has been. The divorce, I mean."

"It wasn't exactly kept out of the papers", Elena reminded him. "If I remember correctly, there was a time when there was at least one article about it everyday. You just never confirmed it."

"I just never liked the publicity. I love writing and I'm so lucky that I've been able to make a career out of it. It's really nice to meet people who like my books once in a while too. But anything more than that just seems like a chore." Damon placed his empty glass on the floor beside his chair and said, "To answer your questions, both this one and the first one you ever asked me, I didn't handle the split too well. If you ask Caroline she'll call it my self destruction phase. I gave up on my daughter and my writing."

"Gave up? I thought you were releasing a new book?" Elena asked, curious.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked her softly and she nodded. "I've managed to get my life back on track to a certain extent but I still have a writer's block. I've been trying to write something for the new book but I just haven't managed it yet." Damon had no idea why he made such a huge confession to her. He had no idea why but he thought he could trust her. But obviously, there was no going back now.

Elena nodded sympathetically. "You'll get past it sooner or later", she said. "I have a confession too. The real reason why I interviewed you for my column was because I was having a writer's block too and I had no idea what I was going to write about when my friend, Bonnie told me that the newspaper wanted an interview with you."

"And let me guess, talking to me made it all melt away?" he asked sarcastically.

"You had me pretty fired up so I guess, yeah, you did help me get through it even though you didn't know it at the time."

Damon took a deep breath and slouched backward into his chair. "I wish it were that easy. It's almost as if I've lost my inspiration for writing."

"Or may be you're just lost", she said. Damon looked at her expectantly. He was happy to hear any theory that could potentially give him hope. "I had this teacher in college who is one of the reasons why I have a career in journalism. Her first assignment was for us to write an essay on any topic of our choice. A couple of days after I turned in my assignment, she called me to her office and told me that my writing was good but it lacked something. She said it lacked passion. She made me drop her class that semester. She said she wouldn't take me back until I figured out who I was and what I really wanted to write about. And I'm glad she did that. She gave me the push that helped me become the journalist I wanted to be. May be you're in the same position now."

"That's a really nice story", Damon said softly. "But it's not that simple in my case. I'm not in college. I've lived long enough to know who I am."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Elena in a tone that almost made Damon doubt himself. "From what I've heard, you fell in love with your ex wife years ago when you were still in college. So it's only natural that she helped defined who you were. Now that she's no longer in the picture, do you really know who you are?"

Damon didn't have an answer to that. He wondered how he had gone from having a superficial conversation about his daughter to a conversation about identity. But he had to admit that she had a good question. After Katherine had left him, he had gone on a drinking binge and done a lot of things that were self destructive. Those were his decisions. But once he had realised just how much he had screwed up, he had relied on Caroline and Stefan to help him get his life back on track. He still relied on them to help him make some of the more important decisions. Before he could answer her question, he heard someone call Elena's name from behind him and he turned around to see Bonnie. "Are you ready to leave?" she asked Elena.

Elena shook her head and got up from her seat and Damon followed suit. "I'm glad I agreed to have a drink with you", she told him. "You were right, you aren't the jerk I had to interview the other day."

"Thanks", Damon said flashing her one of his rare genuine smiles. "I guess I'll see you around then", he said.

"Yeah", said Elena. "Good night, Damon", she said and then made her way to Caroline and Stefan to wish them a good night and then the two girls got into the car with Elena at the wheel. "What was that all about?" asked Bonnie.

"What was what about?" asked Elena.

"You talking to Damon. I thought you didn't like the guy", said Bonnie.

"You know what? He isn't as bad as I thought he was. I guess he's just having a tough time", answered Elena thoughtfully.

"I'm surprised he was able to change your mind over one drink." Elena just shrugged but didn't respond. She really had no idea what to say.

-xx-

Damon wandered about the house aimlessly and on occasion he stopped by Sydney's room to check on her. The crowd downstairs slowly thinned out until Caroline and Stefan were the only ones left. Deeming it safe to go downstairs, Damon went to them. Caroline was standing at the centre of the room surveying its state of disarray. The house was clean except for where the green and gold decoration lay on the ground and not stuck to the wall like it was supposed to be. "I can take care of this tomorrow", she announced. "I'm so tired I could sleep for days!"

"You and me both", said Stefan as he sat down on one of the chairs. He then turned to Damon and asked, "You're staying here tonight, right?"

"Looks like it", said Damon with a shrug. "Sydney's already asleep and I don't want to wake her up. I'm really sorry I'm imposing."

"You know we love having you around", said Caroline. "Having Sydney around makes up for the fact that you're a complete ass most of the time", she said with a smile.

Damon laughed and answered, "You know me. I always like to live up to peoples' expectations."

"What did Katherine have to say?" asked Stefan out of the blue.

"Oh, you know Katherine. It wasn't anything important", answered Damon sitting down next to his brother.

"Come on Damon, just spit it out. What did she say?" Caroline almost whined. "I'm so sleepy and I don't have the energy to do this."

"The truth, Damon", warned Stefan. "If you skipping dinner was any indication, she didn't tell you anything you wanted to hear."

Damon took a deep breath as he tried to decide how much he was going to tell them. Deciding that it was too late for a heavy conversation, he kept the details to a bare minimum. "She only called because I've been trying to talk to her since the whole kindergarten debacle", said Damon. "I wanted to talk her into at least trying to be a part of Sydney's life but she flat out refused. She did say she was willing to talk to me in person though."

"And you said no, right?" asked Caroline in an almost threatening tone.

Damon simply said, "I have to, for Sydney's sake."

"Why am I not surprised?" asked Stefan. "You do realise this is a really bad idea, right?"

"I can't do this on my own", said Damon, softly.

"You're not alone, you have to know that. You'll always have Caroline and me when ever you need us", said Stefan.

"You don't have to do this, Damon", said Caroline. "You're going to talk to her and she's going to say that she wants no part in Sydney's life and you're going to start on a downward spiral again."

"How about this? One of you could come with me", suggested Damon.

Caroline and Stefan exchanged questioning looks and Stefan nodded. "That is the first half way reasonable thing he has said in a while", agreed Caroline.

"I think she'll understand too", said Stefan.

"I guess it's not such a bad idea", Caroline concluded.

"You guys do remember that I'm still here right?" asked Damon.

"Fine", said Caroline. "Talk to Katherine again and make sure she knows one of us will be with you and if she asks why, you can just tell her that you still need a baby sitter."

"Fine", agreed Damon. "Can we call it a night then?"

"I think we can", said Stefan yawning. "Good night, Damon."

"Good night", Damon said to the couple and he made his way up the stairs. He stopped mid way and turned to face Stefan again, "Happy birthday again, brother", he said. Stefan smiled back at him. Damon was so tired. He knew his clothes would be uncomfortable but he didn't care. He just collapsed into the bed. He didn't fall asleep immediately. His mind wandered to his conversation with Katherine. When he had told Stefan and Caroline what she had said to him, he had left out the part about how she had moved on with someone else. Damon had had a sneaking suspicion that she was with someone but hearing her actually confirm it had felt like a knife to his heart. He just had no idea what was going to happen now. He wished there was something he could do to take his mind off of Katherine. Elena had provided him with a great distraction for a while. But he still couldn't figure out why he had told her as much as he had. He didn't exactly regret it but he just didn't know what possessed him to give her more than the usual vague story he responded with. In that moment Damon realised he had a lot of a questions but no answers. He just couldn't stop replaying his many questions over and over again in his head. Finally, about an hour later Damon fell asleep wishing he didn't feel as lost as he did.


	4. (Un)Happy

_AN: I'm a day early! Anyway, some parts of this chapter didn't feel right and I couldn't think of a way to change it without making it worse. I don't mean the story, I mean the language. So instead of stressing about it I thought I would just upload it and ask you guys about it. So please do leave a review and let me know what you think. Should I make any changes to the chapter or should I leave it as it is? Oh and thank you so much for all the reviews and the follows and the favourites! You're reviews make me want to do a better job at it._

The alarm on the phone went off at 7 am sharp. Elena was no stranger to early mornings but they had stayed up much longer than she had expected. Even after getting home late from Caroline's party, she and Bonnie had stayed up late talking and she had been able to get only 5 hours of sleep. Her bed was just so comfortable and she did not want to leave it. She hit snooze, against her better judgement and went back to sleep. When her alarm rang again 5 minutes later, she forced herself out of her bed and went ahead with her usual morning rituals. She walked out to the kitchen at 7.45 am and saw Bonnie sitting at the counter, half asleep, with a bowl of cereal in front of her. "Wake up, sleepy head", said Elena shaking her friend's shoulder. "You're cereal's getting soggy."

"You're brother's horrible", said Bonnie.

Elena poured herself some milk and cereal and sat down next to her and asked, "What did he do this time?"

"He called me at 6 am!" said Bonnie emphatically. "Who in their right mind wakes up at 6 am?"

Elena burst out laughing. "You know Jeremy's a fitness nut right?"

"Yeah", said Bonnie almost whining, "But that doesn't mean he should call me!"

"Looks like someone's a little cranky", said Elena.

"I can't help it", said Bonnie. "You know late nights don't agree with me." That was an understatement. Bonnie was usually the most pleasant person on earth but no one dared cross her path when she hadn't had enough sleep. "You know what the worst part is?" she asked and Elena gave her a questioning look. "I have to talk to the stupid band manager for Elijah and confirm the interview date and time." Bonnie pushed away her bowl of cereal and put her head down on the counter.

"I do not envy you right now", said Elena as she finished the last of her own cereal. "Are you done with that?" she asked Bonnie who nodded but didn't look up. Elena took both bowls to the sink and after washing them, she grabbed her car keys. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"I don't want to", whined Bonnie. Elena went back to the kitchen and pulled Bonnie up and dragged her out the door by her hand. "Wait", Bonnie protested. "Can I at least get my bag?" Elena let her go and Bonnie disappeared into her room. Elena checked her email as she waited for Bonnie. She noticed there was one from one of the newspaper's editors telling her that she had done a great job on her last article, another from Caroline thanking her and Bonnie for attending the party and telling her that she wanted to hang out with them again soon. Glad that she didn't have anything important to deal with in the morning, she slipped her phone back into her handbag. "Bonnie, did you fall asleep again", asked Elena as she looked at her watch. "It's 7.55 am already. If we don't get going now, we're going to be late!"

"I'm here, I'm here", said Bonnie as she emerged from her room checking her bag to make sure she had everything she needed. The drive to work was quiet but that was mostly because Bonnie was fast asleep. Elena found it adorable and she didn't have the heart to wake her up when they reached the office. Seeing that there was no other choice, she woke her friend up and the two parted ways to their own cubicles when they reached the office.

Elena logged into her email and left it open on her desktop. She leaned back as much as her chair would allow her and opened her notebook. She went through a number of ideas she had already jotted down. Some of them she felt were no longer relevant and so she marked them out. She made some minor changes or additions to some other ideas which she thought were in need of them. Soon she was lost in her own little world. She loved her job, there was no denying it. She had more freedom with the content than most other journalists who were of the same age. Despite the trouble she had waking up in the morning, the day was turning out to be pleasant as usual and for that she was glad. While scanning her ideas one last time to determine whether she wanted to flesh one of them out into an article or write a new one, she heard a knock on the glass panel of her cubicle. She looked up to see Elijah Mikaelson smiling at her. "Hello, Elena", he said.

"Hey, Elijah", she said a little confused. "What brings you here?"

"I actually have a favour to ask. Normally I would ask Bonnie to do it because let's be honest, the girl knows how to get what she wants. But since this is a proposal I want you to think about and not be tricked into, I thought it would be best to do it myself." Elena looked at him expectantly and Elijah continued, "I know that your articles are mostly about what you like and what you think but I read your interview with Damon Salvatore and let me tell you this, you've done a really good job. So, I wanted to offer you a bi monthly column in addition to the one you already have."

"Are you going to ask me to interview people for this column?" asked Elena dreading the answer.

"No", said Elijah with a laugh. "You won't have to interview anybody but you will be asked to attend major events and write about them. You don't have to talk to anyone there although that might help you write a better article. The article would have to be published on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. That would give you enough time for you to prepare your usual weekly article as well. The reason why I want you to think about this is that we'll be starting you out slow with events like the cocktail party at the Lockwoods but soon you'll have to travel a little farther to attend these events. Don't say anything now", said Elijah when he noticed that Elena was about to say something. "Just think about this and get back to me tomorrow."

"I will", agreed Elena. "Thanks, Elijah." Elijah smiled back at her and left. The very next second, Bonnie was standing in front of her asking, "What was that about?"

"Elijah was offering me an additional column", said Elena.

"That's amazing!" said Bonnie. "What's it about?"

"It's a bi monthly article about various events", answered Elena barely able to contain her excitement. "I think Elijah was expecting me to say no because I might have to travel to attend some of these events. But there's no way I'm going to pass up an offer like that!"

"This is really great news. Come on now, let's go celebrate it over lunch", said Bonnie grinning at her. Elena and Bonnie had lunch together every weekday at the Grill except on Mondays when Elena met Jenna at the Grill and Bonnie met Jeremy at a restaurant near the police station where Jeremy worked.

"Bonnie, I haven't given Elijah my answer yet so I think it's a little too soon to be celebrating", she said as she got up and grabbed her coat, ready to leave for lunch.

Elena knew that Bonnie's annoyance at not having had enough sleep had clearly disappeared when she said, "We'll celebrate it unofficially today and officially tomorrow after you tell Elijah that you're going to take him up on his offer", as she made her way to Elena's car.

"We really need to find other things to celebrate", Elena said under her breath as she followed Bonnie. She smiled when she realised that Bonnie could probably rival Caroline in her cheerfulness and just like every other day in her life Elena found herself wondering how she had gotten this lucky.

-xx-

Damon woke up to the sound of chaos from somewhere in the floor below. He looked at his clock and saw that it was 8 am. He got out of bed and walked downstairs to see Stefan in the kitchen and Sydney sitting on a chair by the counter. There were a number of spoons and pans scattered around Stefan who looked frustrated while Sydney sat at her place, giggling. "What's going on?" Damon asked his brother. "Where's Caroline?"

"She's still asleep. She was exhausted after yesterday so she's going in to work late. She's also going to be accompanying you to your err…meeting", he said for lack of a better word.

"I already said I was fine with that. I just have to call and let them know that she's going to be joining me", said Damon. "Why are you destroying the kitchen anyway?"

"Uncle Stefan was trying to make breakfast", answered Sydney who was still laughing.

Damon shot an amused look at Stefan who looked sheepish. "Get out of there", Damon said to him as he put the pans and spoons away. He then went to the fridge and got some eggs. He set one of the pans on the stove and scrambled the eggs and split them between three plates. He then got the bread out and toasting them, he set them on the plates and handed one to Stefan and said, "That's how you make breakfast."

Stefan gladly accepted his plate of food and began scarfing it down. "Two questions: One how is it that you don't even live here and yet you know where everything is and two, when did you learn to cook?"

"I know where everything is because Caroline helped arrange my kitchen and I figured it would be exactly the same way she has the kitchen organized here. Also, her obsessive self wouldn't be able to deal with having anything out of place so everything was easy to find. And as for my cooking skills", he said pointing to his own plate of food, "they're still non-existent. Elisa doesn't come over until after breakfast so I had her teach me how to make the basics, eggs, pancakes."

"And waffles", added Sydney, looking up from her food.

The three turned around when they heard Caroline say, "You made breakfast. Good."

"Toast?" asked Damon holding one up.

"No thanks", answered Caroline. "I'm more of a cereal person", she said as she poured herself some cereal.

"I should get going now", said Stefan. "I have to meet a client in half an hour." He put his plate away and walking over to Caroline, he kissed her on her forehead. Caroline responded with a quiet, "Love you." Stefan waved to the other two and stepped out of the house to face a brand new day.

"So, what's the plan?" Caroline asked Damon.

"I'm going to drop Sydney off at my place. Elisa should be there by now. Then I'm going to see if I can find any tutors for Sydney. Our lunch meeting is at 1pm", he said. He looked to Sydney and was happy to see that she didn't seem to suspect a thing. She was busy trying to finish the last of her eggs.

"At the Grill?" asked Caroline and Damon nodded. "I'll meet you there then. I'll have to get to work from there directly."

"Alright. I'll let them know." Sydney was finally done with her food and he took both their plates and put them to wash.

Caroline turned to Sydney and said, "Remember the red and white dress you wore the other day when you stayed the night and I said I was going to wash it?" Sydney nodded enthusiastically. "It's down in the laundry room, all washed and ready. Can you go get it?"

"Okay, Aunt Caroline", she said and Caroline helped her down. Sydney immediately ran downstairs to the basement to get her dress. When Caroline was sure that Sydney was out of earshot she said, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Damon nodded. "I'm sure. But I have to tell you something before we meet her. I didn't exactly tell you everything last night."

"What is it?" asked Caroline, concerned.

"Katherine is with someone else now. He knows she was married but he doesn't know about Sydney." Sydney ran in just then and asked Damon, "Daddy, can I wear this today?"

"Sure you can. Why don't we get you ready and we can go back home?" Sydney nodded again and rushed back upstairs to her room.

"This conversations isn't over, Damon", said Caroline. "Be at the Grill by 12.30 and we can talk about this then." Damon nodded and followed his daughter back to her room. The rest of the morning and his ride back home consisted mainly of him wondering if Katherine was going to agree to meeting Caroline as well. By 11 am, he decided to answer that question once and for all and he called Katherine. He was surprised when she picked up on the second ring and was unsurprised when she said she was willing to meet him and only him. He had been expecting this which was why he had formulated a backup plan. After his chat with Elena at the party, he had been wondering if he had been relying on Caroline and Stefan for too long. He had needed their help getting back on his feet and he was grateful to them for being there for him and for Sydney but he figured it was time to take off the training wheels. So he put his plan into action by telling Katherine to meet him at the Grill an hour earlier.

Glad that that was out of the way, he went online and looked up how home schooling worked. He then went down to Elisa and asked her about it as well. He soon realised that she was a better source of information than the internet. It turned out that she had some experience as a tutor and she agreed to help Sydney with her education as well but only as long as she was in elementary school. Knowing that that was still about seven years away, he agreed. There was a good chance that he might change his mind when it was time for Sydney to start elementary school. She agreed to teach her simple things for two hours every day. By the time he finished his conversation with Elisa, it was 12 pm. He quickly went up the stairs and into Sydney's room and kissed her goodbye and made his way to the Grill. Lucky for him, the Grill was only 10 minutes away from his house.

The minute he stepped into the Grill, he spotted Katherine, dressed to impress and impatient. "I'm sorry I'm late but I was talking to Elisa and she agreed to tutor Sydney for a while. I've had trouble getting her into a school", he said as soon as he slid into the booth.

Katherine didn't answer she just stared blankly at him. He could tell something was off about her but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He cleared his throat and said, "I think you know why I'm here."

"I do", said Katherine. She sounded detached. Damon wondered if she really didn't care or if she was trying to pretend like she didn't care. He really hoped that it was the latter. "You want to talk me into being a part of Sydney's life." She looked right at Damon and continued, "I know you think that I'm making a huge mistake but trust me, I've thought about this and I'm doing what's best for all of us."

"No you're not", said Damon bluntly. "You're doing what's best for you, like you've always done. She's your daughter too, Katherine. She needs you", he said trying for the millionth time to reason with her.

"Damon, she probably doesn't even remember me", said Katherine.

"Oh believe me she does", answered Damon. "I didn't want my daughter to grow up not knowing her mother so I made sure she got to know about you."

For a second, Katherine froze. She didn't know what to say to that. She quickly recovered and said, "That's your mistake, Damon not mine."

Damon felt like he had been slapped. He might have been a writer but words eluded him right then. When she noticed the look on Damon's face, Katherine took a deep breath and continued in the same annoyed tone, "Look, maybe I'm doing what's best for me. I honestly, don't know anymore. All I know is that I'm happy now", she said. "I'm happier than I've been in the last 7 years. My boyfriend doesn't know about Sydney and I'd like to keep it that way. I don't know what he would do or think if I tell him about Sydney but I'm not willing to take that risk. Maybe I will sometime later but for right now this is how it has to be."

"We started dating 7 years ago", said Damon. "Why didn't you say anything?" His face was an unreadable mask to Katherine.

"Look, I know I said that I loved you", answered Katherine in a heated tone. "I'm sorry if you feel like I led you on. But the truth is that I was confused and it took me a while to figure it out but I wasn't really in love. I guess I just liked the idea of being in love."

"What do you want me to say to Sydney?" asked Damon, switching gears. "Because I can't think of anything that I can say without hurting her."

"I don't know", said Katherine, her voice rising and her annoyance showing through. "Tell her that I've gone somewhere far away and I can't see her anytime soon." Katherine got up from her seat and almost screamed at him, "Or better yet, tell her that I'm dead. I'm done and I'm out. There's nothing that you can do to change that!" With that she stormed away leaving the rest of the patrons of the Grill staring at him.

Damon sat at the table unable to move or even breathe. His mind was racing a million miles an hour. He was soon brought back to the real world when he heard someone take the seat across from him. "I should have known", said Damon softly. "The lying, the cheating, the fighting, it was all because she wasn't happy and I was too blind to see it."

"The cheating?" asked Caroline surprised and a little confused. "Is there something your brother and I don't know about?"

"The guy that Katherine's with is the same one she slept with when she was still married to me." Damon couldn't bring himself to meet Caroline's eyes. He knew that she would have pity etched on her face. Instead, he played with the wedding band on his finger as he continued. "She got back home late one night and she seemed preoccupied. I thought something bad had happened but when I asked her about it, she just got angry. I didn't think much of it then but a couple of weeks later I figured it out. When I confronted her about it, she admitted to a one night stand and promised me that she would never do it again. She said that it was a one-time thing and I believed her mostly because I wanted to. From then on things went from bad to worse. That's the real story about where all the lies began and you know how it ends." Caroline quietly watched as he slipped the ring off his finger and spun it like a top on the table. The ring twirled for a few seconds before Damon placed his hand over it, causing it to fall. "This", he said taking the ring in his hand, "didn't mean a thing to her even back then and now I know why. I was forcing her to stay in a relationship she didn't want to stay in so I guess I deserve this. You were right, by the way. Trying to talk to Katherine was a bad idea." He left the ring on the table and walked out of the Grill and made his way back home.

It was quiet when he stepped inside. Sydney was probably taking her afternoon nap. Elisa was just cleaning up the kitchen. She looked up when she saw him walk in. "What happened?" she asked when she took in his appearance.

"Nothing good", he answered. "My lunch meeting was actually with Katherine."

Elisa sighed. "Damon, I know I'm not your mother and you don't have to listen to me but I think it would be best for both you and Sydney if you could just stay away from her", said Elisa as she dried the dishes and put them back in their place.

"That's the problem. I'm not sure I can walk away even after she told me that she had never wanted to be with me. How did I manage to screw up so badly?"

"You were young and you were in love", said Elisa kindly.

"You know what the worst part in all this is?" asked Damon. "Because what I did, Sydney is miserable."

"Sydney isn't miserable. Sure, she misses her mother but she's still a happy child", she said. Damon wasn't in the mood to listen to Elisa just then. She was wise and ever since he had hired her, she had helped him on numerous occasions but at that moment, he was convinced that she was wrong. Instead of saying anything else, he went upstairs to check on Sydney and found her fast asleep in her room. She looked peaceful and happy and he wondered if Elisa was right about her but another part of his brain told him that no child would be happy without her mom. He knew he hadn't really been happy since his mother had died.

He went downstairs to his office and sat at his desk which still held his wedding picture. He had his arm around Katherine who was dressed in white and they were both smiling at the camera. He looked harder at the picture trying to find some sort of a sign indicating that she was just pretending but he couldn't. He threw the picture roughly to the floor. He knew it was time to let go but he still wasn't sure if he could do it. He stared at the picture. The glass that had held it was shattered, much like his life was, he thought. He didn't know how to fix it and for the first time he admitted to himself that it scared the hell out of him.

-xx-

Elena and Bonnie had been engrossed in their meal at the bar when they heard someone screaming. The two girls instinctively turned towards the source of the noise and saw a tall, well dressed brunette stalking away from one of the tables. Elena immediately recognised the person sitting at the table. "Isn't that Damon?" she heard Bonnie ask her.

"Yeah, it is", Elena confirmed. "I'm not sure but I think the woman who just left is Damon's ex-wife."

"She looked very familiar. I'm sure I've seen her somewhere", said Bonnie. She thought hard but she couldn't place her face.

"You've probably seen her on some magazine when she was still with Damon", said Elena. "They used to attend most high profile events together."

"Maybe", conceded Bonnie.

The girls then turned back to their lunch. Minutes before they were about to leave, Caroline sat down next to them at the bar. She signalled for the waitress and said, "A burger and coke to go please." The waitress nodded and walked away.

"Rough day?" asked Bonnie.

"Something like that", answered Caroline. "Damon and I were supposed to meet his nightmare of an ex here. He just walked out of here, upset, telling me that trying to talk to her was a bad idea and I have no idea what happened."

"What happened was he met her before you even hot here. She stormed out of here just a couple of minutes before you got here", said Elena.

Caroline blew out a breath. "The woman is impossible! She actually picked some random guy over her own daughter. What kind of a mother does that?"

"What does Damon have to say about all of this?" asked Bonnie.

"He wants her in Sydney's life. He doesn't want his daughter to grow up without a mother. He was very close to his mother and he wants Sydney to have that kind of a relationship with Katherine", Caroline answered. She took a calming breath and continued, "I guess Damon still loves her but unfortunately for him, she doesn't love him enough. I hope for his sake and Sydney's that he can somehow move on."

"How's he doing?" asked Elena.

"I have no idea. I don't think anyone knows what's going on in his head. He usually shuts down when I try to talk to him about this. Hopefully, Stefan will have more luck than I usually do. I'm going to ask him to talk to Damon in person as soon as he can." The waitress handed Caroline her order. Caroline paid the waitress and stood up. "I guess I should get going", she said.

"Yeah", nodded Elena. "I'm sure everything will work out for the best", she added with a smile.

"I wish I could believe that", said Caroline. She hugged the other girls goodbye and as she walked out, she sent Stefan a text telling him to give him an update after talking to Damon and then made her way to work.


	5. Lost

_AN: And once again you get a chapter of Friday instead of Saturday because I'm stuck in college with a couple of hours to kill until my next class. Thank you everyone for following and reviewing. I really love hearing what you have to say and I'm glad you've all liked the story so far. I know I haven't really replied to any of the reviews from this week but know that it really means a lot. Also I noticed that my story is getting sadder and sadder but I promise you that in time it will all get better. I mean this is a story that I'm controlling and I like happy endings so be patient. So here's the next chapter. I'm open to constructive criticizim and any kind of feedback. Please leave a review telling me what you think. I hope you like this chapter too._

Damon looked up when he heard a soft knock on the door. Before he could answer, the door was pushed open and Stefan walked in. "What happened here?" he asked.

"Nothing", answered Damon as he knelt down and picked up the pieces of broken glass that lay on the floor. He carefully picked up every last piece and threw it away. "I guess that's where this picture belongs in any case." He turned back to Stefan who was still standing by the door and asked, "Did Caroline send you here?"

"You know she did", answered Stefan.

"I'm fine, Stefan. I don't need you guys checking on me", said Damon as he walked out of his office and into the living room.

Stefan followed him and sat down on the couch. "I know", he said. "But Caroline's worried about you and so am I. Caroline filled me in on everything. Why didn't you say anything about her cheating on you?"

"I don't know Stefan", said Damon in tired voice. "I just didn't want to, I guess. I'm not in the mood for this right now."

"I know you don't want to hear this but you've got to come clean to yourself about everything that happened between you and Katherine and you need to move on."

"Do you want to know what happened?" asked Damon, sounding angry. "I fell in love with Katherine the minute I saw her and for a very long time I thought she felt the same way. We got married, had the most beautiful daughter and then she realised that she wasn't really happy and ended up sleeping with some guy she had just met. I should have taken the hint that she wasn't happy with me. I should have known that her heart wasn't in it anymore. But I turned a blind eye to all of it and forced her to stay in a relationship she no longer wanted to be in. Because of what I did, she continued to lie not just about the guy she was sleeping with but also about a hundred different things. Because of what I did, not only am I miserable but I'm making Sydney miserable too. So maybe I deserve this. I deserve to hear the only woman I ever loved tell me that she might have never loved me back." The anger left Damon's voice as suddenly as it had set in and he sank into the couch and his voice shook when he said, "Sydney's better off without me." Damon looked at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Stefan moved to the arm rest of Damon's chair and laid an arm on his shoulder. "Sydney will not be better off without you and you know it. She's already lost her mother and she won't be able to handle loosing you too so don't you even for a second consider it. You're not as bad an influence on her as you think."

"I don't know what to do", said Damon and he put his head in his hands. "What on earth am I going to tell Sydney about all this?"

"I think you should tell her the truth. You can't tell her everything out right but maybe you could stop telling her things that aren't strictly true. Stop trying to make sure that she remembers Katherine." Stefan waited for Damon to say something but when he realised that he wasn't going to get an answer from his brother, he got up from his place looking at his watch. "I need to get back to the office right now. But Caroline and I are coming over for dinner and we'll talk about this tonight and we'll try to figure something out together. Okay?"

Damon just nodded. He heard Stefan's retreating footsteps as he walked away. He then heard the door open and close indicating that Stefan had left. Damon sat without moving for a very long time. A million thoughts flew through his mind but he couldn't focus on any one of them. He felt the cushion depress next to him but he didn't think about it until he felt two slim arms wrap themselves around his neck. He looked up and saw Sydney awkwardly trying to hug him. "What are you doing?" he asked her confused.

"I'm trying to hug you", she said simply. "Aunt Caroline says hugs always make people feel better."

"Your Aunt Caroline is one very smart woman you know that?" he asked her and pulled her on to his lap and hugged her. He felt her shift and then settle comfortably in his arms. He wished he could just hold her and pretend like everything was going to be alright but he knew he needed to talk to her. He pulled away and told her, "Remember how things didn't exactly work out for you at that school? So I've talked to Elisa about it and she's going to be teaching you the things you would have learnt at the school."

"So mommy's not coming?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not. She's not going to be able to make it and I think it's time we both start getting used to it", answered Damon with a sigh.

"I miss her", said Sydney softly.

"So do I", said Damon as he held his daughter close.

-xx-

"I couldn't wait", said Elena as soon as she saw Bonnie. "I told Elijah that I would be willing to write that article! Guess what the first event I'm going to be covering is?"

"What?" asked Bonnie as the two walked to Elena's car.

"I have to cover the Lockwood party this Friday", said Elena.

"You're excited about that? The Lockwood party is probably the most boring event ever held in history. I don't get why they do it every year and I don't get why so many people turn up", said Bonnie with a huff.

"It's for a good cause, Bonnie", replied Elena. "The money they raise at the party goes to the public school. And we both know that school can use all the funds it can get."

"Is this your way of talking me into attending it?" asked Bonnie. "Because it's not working."

"Jeremy's going to be there", Elena tried again as she got into the car and started the engine. "I'm sure he'll be extra happy if you go with him."

"He's going to ask me, isn't he? And I'm not going to be able to say no, am I?" asked Bonnie. Elena flashed her friend an evil smile.

"It's official I hate today again!" Bonnie was quiet for some time until she saw Elena taking a left. "Where are you going? Our house is the other way."

"We're not going home. We're going to the Grill because Jeremy wants to take you out on a date."

"What?" Bonnie asked in panic. "I'm not ready for a date right now. I'm all cranky from work!"

"That's fine", said Elena. "I'm sure he's not going to mind. He's always cranky."

"This is kidnap", said Bonnie seriously.

"So what are you going to do about it?" asked Elena as she kept her eyes on the road. "Call the police? Somehow I don't think that's going to help you."

"You two are evil!" said Bonnie. She remained quiet until they reached the parking lot of the Grill where Jeremy was waiting for them. He waved as soon as he saw Elena's car pulling into an empty spot. "Hey, Jenna and Ric are inside. I thought you might want to see them."

"I would never pass up an opportunity to drop in on them. I'll see you two later", she said and hugged her brother good bye and winked at Bonnie. Elena then stepped into the Grill and automatically walked to Ric's usual spot at the bar. She sat down next to him and asked, "Hey, Ric, how's it going at the high school."

"It's going incredibly well at the high school", he answered with a smile. "But I'm guessing that's mostly because I'm a teacher and not a student." Just then Jenna stepped up behind him with Mike in her arms. Mike extended his arms to Elena wanting to go to her. "I swear, you've put a spell on my kid here, Elena", said her aunt. "So should we get a table?"

"You'll be lucky to get a table here tonight. It's packed this time of the day", answered Elena.

"Sweeter words were never spoken", said Alaric with a grin.

"Does the school know they've hired an alcoholic for a history teacher", asked Elena seriously.

"Elena", she heard a cheerful voice call out to her. She immediately recognised Caroline's voice and turned to see her walking towards them with Stefan in tow.

"Hey, Caroline", she greeted her friend. "I didn't think I'd run into you here."

"Well, we all needed some time out of the house", said Caroline.

"You remember my Aunt Jenna?" asked Elena and Caroline waved to her. "This is Ric, her husband and this little one here is their son, Mike."

"Why don't we get a table? The more the merrier right?" asked Caroline.

"I'm not sure, Caroline. I was just about to head back home", said Elena reluctantly.

"Oh come on, you have to eat anyway so have dinner with us. I'm sure that Jenna and Ric would like that too", pleaded Caroline and Jenna nodded.

Seeing the look on Caroline's face, Elena just couldn't say no. "Alright, I'll stay", she said and Caroline actually cheered. A while later, they still hadn't gotten a table Elena heard Sydney's voice say, "I love this place." She turned around to see Sydney holding Damon's hand and almost pulling him towards the group. He took the empty seat next to Alaric and then looked directly at Caroline and said, "I hate this place."

"The cuter one gets to pick so deal with it Salvatore", Caroline shot back. Caroline then went on to repeat the introductions again for Damon's sake. Sydney seemed as lively and happy as ever sitting on Damon's lap. Damon on the other hand looked tired and Elena had a good idea why. Jenna broke her out of her thoughts asking, "What's Jeremy's sudden date with Bonnie all about?"

"You didn't hear this from me", said Elena in a conspiratorial tone, "but Jeremy's about to propose to Bonnie tonight."

Bored, Ric asked "Are you girls going to spend all night gossiping?" as a waitress came over to inform them that their table was ready.

"I have an idea", said Stefan. "We'll stay here and you girls can take the table. It's a win-win."

"I second the motion", said Damon.

Caroline looked to Elena for confirmation and she nodded. "Alright, then", said Caroline. "We'll let you know when we're ready to leave", she said to the men. "Come on, Sydney", she said to her niece. "Your dad and Stefan are going to be busy doing boring men things so why don't we go ahead and get something nice for dinner."

"Okay", agreed Sydney and slipped off of Damon's lap and taking Caroline's hand, she followed her to the table.

"I want my daughter back at the end of the night", Damon told Stefan pointedly.

"Don't worry, Caroline's not going to kidnap her", said Stefan.

"She's seems like an adorable kid", said Ric.

"She is", answered Damon sound every bit like the proud father he was. The three men ordered their drinks and Damon turned to Ric and asked, "What do you do for a living, Ric?"

"I'm a history teacher at the public high school", he answered. "It's not a very glamourous job but it's very fulfilling."

"So I take it you're going to be at the Lockwood party on Friday?" asked Stefan.

"I don't really have much of a choice. The Lockwoods really are helping the school out a lot and it's the least we can all do by turning up at the event."

"Are conditions at the high school really as bad as they're made out to be?" asked Damon. "I thought there were funds to make sure schools were well provided for."

"There are", agreed Alaric. "But there's a lot of politics involved that I really don't want to get into. So the official funding hasn't been released to the school. We just make do with the money that's collected at the Lockwood party and donations from people who've seen the plight of the school."

"Caroline said she went to the school", said Stefan. "But I don't recall her ever complaining about the lack of infrastructure."

"Things have changed drastically since then. I've seen the school in its glory days too." It was then that Ric noticed Damon's drink. "You're having a coke?"

"I'm more of a recovering alcoholic. It's best for everyone if I stay far away from alcohol and besides I have to drive back home", answered Damon.

Stefan asked, "How old is Mike?" steering the conversation away from Damon.

"He's three. He just started school and he says he loves it", said Ric with a laugh. "Frankly, I think he's lying. What kid likes school?"

Damon tensed a little and Stefan realised he'd hit on another sensitive topic. But when he thought about it, he realised just about anything could turn into a sensitive issue for his brother. Luckily, he was saved from saying anything when Damon excused himself saying he wanted to check on Sydney. He found the girls and the kids but Jenna was notably missing from the table. Sydney immediately waved at him with her fork. He pulled a chair up next to her and asked, "Are you having fun?"

Sydney nodded enthusiastically and said, "I love the spaghetti too."

"Bored already?" asked Caroline.

"Something like that", he answered. "How did you get her to stop using her hands?" he asked noticing for the first time that Sydney was trying to eat with her fork although she didn't seem to be making much progress.

"I actually told her how to use it", said Caroline as he watched Sydney pick up a single strand of the spaghetti on her fork and hold it above her head as she reached up and ate it. "She's still getting the hang of it", said Caroline.

"That's more than I could have managed", Damon said.

Caroline felt her phone vibrate and fished it out of her purse. She looked at the screen and said, "I have to take this. Excuse me." She got up and left Elena and Damon at the table with Mike and Sydney.

"Do you come here often?" Damon asked Elena unable to think of anything else to ask her.

"I guess so. There aren't really a lot of places to hang out here", she said. "Also I like it here and I take it Sydney agrees."

"Sydney would be happy if I brought her to dinner here every night and ordered her the same old spaghetti. She likes things that are familiar to her, kind of like her..." Damon hesitated before finishing, "not like me."

Elena gave him an understanding nod. "I'm sorry about how things went over lunch."

"You were here, weren't you?" asked Damon almost embarrassed.

"Yeah. I wasn't sure what happened but Caroline filled in some of the blanks." Then she quickly added, "Don't be mad at her. She was just frustrated and needed someone to talk to. She didn't know what had happened and she probably didn't say anything you wouldn't have wanted anyone else to know." And just like that she felt suddenly nervous.

"I could never be mad at Caroline", said Damon with a soft smile, easing Elena's mind. "She gets on my nerves a lot but she's been looking out for me ever since this whole mess began."

"Daddy", Sydney called to him and said, "Can Elena come over some time? She said she could teach me to make a cake the way her mommy taught her." She looked up at him expectantly.

Damon had no idea what to say but at the same time he didn't want to disappoint her. "Well, I'm not sure, honey. It's up to Elena. She's welcome any time."

Caroline and Jenna picked the exact same minute to return to the table and saw that the kids were done with their dinner. Caroline said, "Let's get you two all cleaned up", as she helped Sydney out of her chair and Jenna did the same for Mike. "Will you two be okay with us gone?" she asked.

"I promise not to kill her while you're gone", said Damon seriously. Caroline just rolled her eyes and led the way to the hand wash.

Elena noticed Damon was still watching Caroline and Sydney until they disappeared from view. "For the record, I'm sure Caroline won't kill Sydney either", she said.

Damon answered with a laugh, "I'm more worried that she's going to try to kidnap her!"

"She might actually be capable of that", said Elena thoughtfully.

Damon sat back in his chair and it hit him that he was at the exact same table earlier in the afternoon. Their conversation flooded back to the forefront of his mind again. He felt everything else fade away from him. All he could hear were Katherine's words screaming at him telling him that he could very well tell Sydney that she was dead. He held on to the edge of the table as he felt on the verge of passing out. For a minute, he couldn't understand why he felt weak and then he realised that he couldn't breathe. He felt a hand on his shoulder but he still couldn't breathe even when he tried to take deep breaths. He heard someone calling to him from far away and he wanted to respond but he couldn't. He closed his eyes and focused all his attention on taking his next breath. After what felt like an eternity, he felt the cool air entering his lungs. Relief flooded through him. He still felt weak but he could tell that the voices were much closer than he had previously thought. When he opened his eyes, it took them a moment to focus. When they did, he saw Elena kneeling in front of him looking very worried. She squeezed his hand and asked, "Are you alright?"

Damon nodded, unsure of whether he would be able to speak. He felt the hand on his shoulder relaxing its hold a little and he heard Stefan's voice from behind him ask, "Why don't we go outside for a while. The fresh air will do you some good." Damon got to his feet even though he felt a little dazed. He looked up and immediately noticed the panicked little girl who was hover near Caroline. Caroline had her hands on Sydney's shoulder effectively keeping her from getting too close to Damon. All he wanted to do was walk up to her and ease her fears but he still felt disoriented and he felt Stefan pat his shoulder again. Unsure of what else he could do, Damon turned around and walked to the door with Stefan close behind him.

Stefan followed Damon as he walked out and leaned against the wall. As he stood there quietly, it looked as if he were trying to catch his breath. When his breathing had evened out sufficiently, Stefan asked him, "What happened?"

"We need to go back inside", said Damon urgently.

"What? Why?" Stefan asked confused.

"It's Sydney; she looked scared. I need to go back in there and make sure that she's okay", he said as he started walking to the door again.

Stefan stepped in front of him and stopped his progress. "Caroline's got her. She's going to be fine. You on the other hand, I'm not so sure about."

"I'm fine, Stefan. Being back here just threw me in for a loop. I just need to stop thinking about this."

"That's just the problem", said Stefan. "You're trying to avoid the problem instead of dealing with it."

"You're right. I am avoiding everything that has anything to do with Katherine and just how screwed up things are right now", said Damon in a heated tone. "And do you know why I'm doing that?" Stefan shook his head no and he continued, "It's because this is the only thing that seems to work. So can you please just go with me on this one? And before you say anything I do remember what happened the last time I did something you told me not to. But right now I need to put Sydney first and the last thing she needs is for me to be a mess."

"I don't mean to be rude but do you honestly think you're not a mess now?" asked Stefan.

"I am a mess. I know that but I just need to find a way to make her believe otherwise."

"Fine", agreed Stefan, much to Damon's surprise. "Let's give your way a shot. You want a distraction?" Damon nodded in response. "We're going to the cemetery and then the lake just like we used to. What better way to chase way the demons of the present than with the demons of the past?"

Damon didn't want to agree but he knew that if he tried to argue with his brother, he would end up convincing him to do something worse than just spending the morning with him. So, instead of arguing, Damon agreed.

"Are you ready to go back inside?" Stefan asked Damon.

"As ready as I'll ever be", he replied.

-xx-

The tension seemed to lift a little once Stefan had led Damon out of the Grill. Sydney however still seemed a little scared. She refused to let go of Caroline's hand and clung to her. So, when they all took their seats around the table, Caroline lifted Sydney on to her lap. She felt Sydney lean closer to her and her hands crumpled the fabric of her shirt. She wrapped her arms around her and hoped she would soon forget about everything that had just happened. The group tried to keep up a conversation like nothing had happened but they were all failing miserably. On the bright side, Sydney had fallen asleep in under 10 minutes. After numerous awkward pauses and attempts at conversation, Stefan walked in to the Grill behind Damon.

"Sorry about earlier", said Damon as he sat down next to Elena and Stefan took the seat next to Caroline. "Is she asleep already?"

"She was out in minutes", said Caroline looking down fondly at her niece. Silence again descended on the table. This time there were glances and nods exchanged and Damon just couldn't take it anymore. "I think I should leave", he said. "It's getting late and I'm sure Sydney's going to be a lot more comfortable in her own bed."

"Yeah", agreed Stefan. "I'll see you in the morning?" he asked.

"I'll pick you up at 9", he said and he moved towards Caroline and took Sydney from her arms and made his way to his car. No sooner had Damon left, Elena prepared to leave as well. "I should get going too. I want to be there when Bonnie gets back home", she said. She said her good byes and walked to her own car. A few feet away from her car she saw Damon leaning into his car and buckling Sydney in. He then closed the door and looked up to see Elena looking at him. Elena waved at him and instinctively walked towards him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Elena", he answered unconvincingly. "I just got caught up in the past a little."

"It looked like a lot more than a little", she said. She heard Damon sigh.

"I've been thinking about what you said at the party and I think you're right. That's one of the reasons why I cut Caroline out of my conversation with Katherine. I know now that that was a mistake but it had to happen. I needed to hear that." Elena was at a loss. She had no idea what the right thing to say would be. Damon continued, "You said you weren't allowed to take that class until you figured out who you were. So how did you do it? 'Cos I need a distraction right now and I'm willing to do just about anything."

"I stepped out of my comfort zone. I really lived life and in the process I found out who I was as well", Elena said thinking back to her college years.

Damon nodded thoughtfully. He looked back at the car just in time to see Sydney stirring. He opened the door again as Sydney looked up at him bleary eyed and confused. "We'll be home very soon, alright?" She nodded and noticed Elena and said, "Good night, Elena."

"Good night, Sydney", she replied smiling at the little girl. She then turned to Damon and said, "I guess I'll see you around. Good night."

Damon simply nodded. When she had reached her car again, she heard Damon call out to her and she turned around. "The offer still stands", he said. "Sydney really seems to like you." Without waiting for a response, he got into the driver's seat and drove away just as Elena did the same.


	6. Hope

_AN: Would you believe me if I told you that I actually managed to write another chapter before the end of the week? Thank you for the reviews, follows and favourites. It really is nice to open this website first thing in the morning and read what you have to say. Anyway, here's the next chapter. This one focuses completely on Damon but I hope you still like it._

The drive back home had been uneventful. Damon had carried Sydney to her room and tucked her in. The day's events had left him exhausted and he was asleep the minute his head hit the pillow. He woke up the next morning to his alarm beeping loud and long. He remembered he had plans with Stefan and so, he reluctantly trudged to the kitchen to kick start the day. He knew Sydney would be up within the hour and he wanted to make sure that he had breakfast ready before she was up. After his little episode at the Grill the previous night, Damon had come to a decision. He recognised that Sydney didn't need or deserve the additional stress and so his game plan was simple. He was going to pretend like everything was fine and he would tell her only what she need to know but he would stick to the truth.

He knew Stefan was against it but avoidance seemed like the best strategy at this point and that was also one of the reasons he was dreading his trip with Stefan. From the time their mother had died when Damon was still 15 until he had graduated from high school, the boys had made it a point to visit their mother's grave once every week. The trips always left both brothers a little upset which is why they always followed it up with a trip to the lake. The lake had always represented safety to him. He had mostly used it as his escape whenever he needed to be alone. Stefan, being the curious younger brother had always questioned him about it but Damon had always brushed him off calling it his secret. But after their mother had passed, Damon noticed that Stefan had been growing increasingly sullen. In an effort to cheer him up after their first visit to their mother's grave, Damon had agreed to share his secret hiding place with him. Stefan had been excited enough to momentarily forget the pain he was in. That first day they had spent together at the lake was one of Damon's fondest memories.

Damon sighed. Things were so simple back when his mother was still with them. His biggest concern had been his sliding academic scores. He had managed to push the thoughts about her death and everything that led to it out of his mind. Stefan had always nagged him about it telling him that he had to deal with it. But like everything else in his life, he just didn't want to. He hadn't had a hard life growing up. In fact, he had been given everything a boy his age would have needed but it still hadn't been easy. His father had thrown himself into his work for years and he had been forced to look after his brother. Avoiding the problem had been working out for him really well and he figured that he didn't have to fix something that wasn't broken.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice Sydney standing up on her chair reaching into the hot pan as he was about to flip the pancake over. He screamed at her to get away, effectively startling her back into her seat. Damon got the pan out of her reach and turned the stove off. He set the pancake on a plate and turned back to his daughter. "Are you okay? Did you burn yourself?" Sydney just shook her head no. "Thank God!" Damon breathed out. "You scared me for a minute there."

"I'm sorry", she said softly.

"You don't have to apologise", he said, his voice immediately softening. "Are you hungry?" he asked her.

She shook her head yes. "I'm very hungry", she said stressing on the 'very'.

"Alright then, let's get you up on the table", he said helping her up onto her chair. "How did you get up on that chair anyway?" he asked her curiously.

"I just put my hand on the seat and put my feet up on the bar there", she said pointing at the foot rest of the tall chair in the kitchen. "And then I can climb on to the chair."

"You could have fallen over climbing up like that. Will you promise me never to do that again?" he asked her seriously.

"I promise", answered Sydney, reluctantly.

"Good", he said and smiled at her. He then set her plate of pancakes in front of her and before handing her a fork, he cut the pancakes with his knife. "Eat up now", he said as he dug into his own plate. As they ate in silence, Damon heard the clock chime 9. He knew his brother would be there soon and so would Elisa who he had asked to come in early in anticipation of his plans with Stefan. Damon broke the silence telling Sydney, "Uncle Stefan and I are going to be spending the day together so I'll have to leave soon. Elisa will be here soon and she'll help you have a bath today. You'll be good for her, won't you?" he asked her.

"I will", she promised him as she pushed her empty plate away from her. Damon took their plates and put them in the sink trusting Elisa to take care of them. Right on cue, he heard the doorbell ring and Sydney hopped out of her chair and ran towards the door. Damon quickly went ahead of her and opened the door, letting Stefan in. "Uncle Stefan", Sydney called out excitedly as she launched herself into his arms.

"My favourite niece!" exclaimed Stefan just as happily. "Your only niece", murmured Damon from behind him. Sydney did not appear to have heard him and she immediately started rattling off a story about her teddy bear and Damon couldn't help but smile watching the two. Elisa stepped in through the door the happy family had left open. She took in the animated scene in front of her and was glad to see Sydney in such high spirits. Clearly the girl was much more sociable than her father was. When Sydney was done with her story, Stefan said to her, "Hey, your dad and I need to get going now."

"Can't I come with you?" she asked pouting.

"No", Damon answered for him. "You'll just be bored with us and remember what I told you? Elisa is going to be teaching you some new things today."

As Damon took her out of Stefan's hands she said, "But you don't play with me like you used to."

"I promise you that I when I get back from my trip with Stefan in the evening", he said looking at his brother for confirmation. Stefan nodded at him and he continued, "We can have a tea party later, okay?"

Sydney still pouted but she agreed with a soft, "Okay."

Damon kissed her on her forehead and said, "That's my girl. Be good for Elisa, okay?" Sydney didn't answer when he put her down but she nodded. "Alright then, I'll see you later today." He knelt down next to her and kissed her again before leaving with Stefan.

Stefan was about to get into his own car when Damon stopped him and said, "Oh no. I'm driving this time", he said and led him to his garage. He walked to the covered car at the extreme left and pulled the sheet away to reveal his old blue Camaro. "I can't believe you still have this", said Stefan. "Actually I can", he amended. "You were obsessed with this thing back in the day. You wouldn't let go of the car even when dad offered to buy you a new car when you graduated."

"If you had spent as much time working on a car as I did on this one, you wouldn't want to let go of it too", answered Damon. He got in behind the wheel of his beloved car and said to Stefan, "It's just like old times." They drove to the cemetery in companionable silence. Parking the car, Damon and Stefan retraced the steps they had trod so many times over the years to their mother's grave. A 2 feet tall head stone marked the spot where their mother had been laid to rest. Damon couldn't stop the sudden rush of memories that flooded his brain. He saw flashes of the accident that had claimed his mother's life as he knelt down. He remembered it as if it had all happened only yesterday.

He closed his eyes and let himself relive that moment just once. He was back in his high school's parking lot feeling feverish and unnaturally tired. He had called his mother telling her that he wasn't feeling well and he wasn't sure if he could walk home. She had dropped everything she had been doing and had made her way to his school. His spirits lifted a little when he saw his mom's car turn into the parking lot and he started walking towards the car. He heard tires screech at a distance and he froze in place. He felt someone, who he later learnt was his friend, Klaus Mikaelson, grab his hand and pull him away as a car zipped past him and collided right into his mother's car which toppled while she was still inside. The whole parking lot went quiet as everybody watched the wreck in shock. Before he knew what he was doing, Damon ran to the car and tried to pull the door open but it wouldn't budge. The car was upside down and he could see his mother was already unconscious. He called to her frantically asking her to wake up. He kept trying to find ways to open the door when the paramedics came to the scene and he was taken to an ambulance. The paramedic at the ambulance kept asking him if he was okay but he couldn't move and he couldn't speak. He watched as the door was pried open. His mother had been declared dead on the site of the accident.

He was brought back to the present when Stefan shook his shoulders, "Are you okay?" repeating the words of the paramedic. Damon nodded. When he spoke, his voice sounded strained. "It feels like it was only yesterday she was coming to pick me up from school. Can you believe it's been 12 years already?" Damon sat back on the ground as he stared at the headstone. "Do you want to talk to her?" Damon asked him just like he had always done when they were younger.

"You really were lost inside your head weren't you?" Stefan asked him. Damon shot him a confused look. "I was talking to her all this while", he said. "You really didn't hear a thing?"

Damon just shook his head no. "I guess I just got caught up in the memories. Do you mind if I talked to her alone?"

"Not at all", said Stefan and he walked back to the car giving his brother some space.

Damon took a deep breath. He was stalling; he had no idea what to say. After a long time he simply said, "I miss you." He looked up the sky and said, "I screwed up and now I have no idea how to fix it. I wish you were here with us." He had so much more to say but he wasn't a child. He knew his mother wasn't listening. There was no point in doing this. It didn't make him feel any better. He just got back on his feet and joined Stefan who was already in the car.

Stefan didn't say anything as Damon got into the car and started driving towards the lake. Stefan watched him closely to see if he was fine and he could tell that Damon had closed himself off. So for the remainder of the drive, Stefan kept quiet.

Thanks to Damon's love for speed, they were at the lake in no time. It was still as beautiful as he remembered it. Stefan walked to the edge of the lake and sat down. It wasn't long before Damon also settled down beside him. After a long silence, Stefan turned to his brother and said, "You know it's not your fault right? What happened to mom, I mean."

"I know", answered Damon. "I couldn't believe it for a long time and then Klaus made it his mission one night during out senior year of high school to beat it into my head but he didn't succeed. But a few years later Katherine showed up and she got through to me. I told her about what had happened to mom after she asked me for the hundredth time and she convinced me that it wasn't my fault. I didn't believe my best friend who was with me during the accident but I believed this woman I had met only a year earlier."

"You've always wanted to believe her even when you've known that she was lying", said Stefan. "I understand that you wanted to salvage your marriage for Sydney's sake but I find it hard to believe that you weren't mad at all for cheating on you."

"I was mad at her. I just never showed it. I was just so desperate for her to stay and so I decided not to say anything that could upset the chances of that happening", answered Damon. "It still didn't help. Everything came crashing down despite everything that I did or maybe it was because of what I did. I'm not so sure anymore."

"Katherine leaving wasn't your fault. She fell in love young just like you did but when you had to be the adults, she just couldn't do it. She probably just didn't know how."

Damon shook his head no. "That's not exactly true. Katherine was terrible at a lot of things but she was amazing with Sydney. She never did love me. She made that clear." He was silent for a minute and then he continued, "I really want to move on. I know that I can't keep living in the past. I need to accept the fact that she's never coming back but after everything she's done I still can't. I don't know how."

"You never did", said Stefan thoughtfully. "I was still a kid when mom died and I didn't know it at the time but I know now that you still can't let go of that either. You say you know that it isn't your fault. But you still blame yourself for what happened." Damon was about to protest but Stefan cut him off. "You're not good with dealing with your emotions, let's be honest. Every time something bad happens, you just focus on trying to make everyone else who was hurt by it feel better and neglect your own feelings. You need to stop doing that."

When Damon didn't answer, Stefan wondered if he had taken it too far. Everything that he had said was true and he thought hearing it might help Damon deal with it. But the longer the silence stretched on, the surer Stefan got that Damon was set on his plan to ignore everything. He knew that his brother would always put Sydney first but he didn't see how he was going to help her when he so badly needed help himself. Stefan said to him, "I didn't bring you here to upset you. If this is something you don't want to talk about it, just say the word and I'll drop it."

Damon looked up at his brother and he knew that all Stefan wanted to do was help but he was convinced that he was beyond help. He didn't want to disappoint Stefan so he simply said, "Why don't we just grab lunch somewhere outside of town and head back home?"

Stefan nodded. "You can pick the restaurant", he said as he got up. The brothers then had lunch together at a small restaurant just outside town called, Harvey's. The meal was good but the silence stretched on. Stefan couldn't think of anything else to say. In fact, he wondered if he had made things worse. Damon hadn't seemed all that upset in the morning but now he looked tired. He remembered that look from the day of their mother's accident and the night when Katherine had asked him for a divorce. Stefan could tell that Damon was barely holding himself together and he wished he hadn't even planned this little trip. He acknowledged that the damage had been done and he decided that the best thing he could do at this point was to make sure that things didn't get worse. So he waited until Damon said something and after that he let him dictate the topic of the conversation as well. Damon stuck to things that were safe like Sydney and politics at Stefan's law firm. When they reached Damon's house, Stefan awkwardly told him that he needed to be back at his office to make some last minute preparations for a case and left.

Damon knew that Stefan didn't have any last minute preparations. Stefan always had his day well planned. He never did anything last minute. He was just trying to come up with a reason to leave and Damon didn't blame him for that. He hadn't exactly been very sociable. He decided to check up on Sydney and see if he could at least cheer her up. He found her sitting at her table with her stuffed animals. Clearly he had missed the beginning of the tea party. When she didn't notice him entering, he asked her, "Up from your nap already?"

Sydney turned around and when she was sure she was looking at her father, her eyes widened and he could see pure joy on her face. Clearly she hadn't been expecting him and once again he blamed himself for it. He made a mental note to do things like this more often. Damon watched as she went from happy to bossy in mere seconds. "You're late", she said as she stood up crossing her arms. He couldn't help but notice just how much she looked like her mother in that moment. He pushed the thought away and said to her, "I'm sorry I'm late but can I please join the party?" He gave her his best 'I'm sorry' face.

The little girl relented and pointed to the edge of her bed closest to her table. "You can sit there. I already gave your place to Wally", she said. Damon could see hints of Caroline's influence on her. Clearly, his daughter was going to grow up to be a control freak just like her aunt. He had hated that about Caroline when he had first met her but now he was so glad he had someone like that around him. When Damon sat down where she wanted him to, she handed him one of her tiny tea cups. He held his in his hand as she pretended to drink from her own cup. When she noticed that Damon wasn't playing along she said, "You're supposed to drink the tea. That's how you play tea party", she said.

"But the cup's empty", said Damon pretending to be confused.

"Of course it's empty", she said seriously. "You have to make believe."

"But I don't want to make believe", he told her giving her a pout he knew could rival her own.

She shook her head and turned back to her other guests asking them how they liked their tea and biscuits. Damon couldn't help but burst at laughing at just how much his daughter seemed to have in common with Caroline. "Kid, you spend way too much time with your Aunt Caroline", he said as he laughed. Sydney just glared at him, clearly disapproving of his actions. When Damon saw that her mood wasn't going to flip as it usually did and forgive him, he said to her, "Wait her for a minute and I'll be right back."

Damon made his way downstairs and rummaged through the kitchen shelves and found a few cookies and some biscuits. He took out a plate and arranged them on it. He put it on a tray along with two cups of chocolate milk. If she could make believe that an empty cup had tea in it, he figured she could definitely pretend that chocolate milk was tea. He carried up the tray and set it down on her table.

"Elisa said I wasn't supposed to play with real food", protested Sydney immediately.

"Well, Elisa can't say no to something she doesn't know about", said Damon with a smile.

"But Elisa will be mad", said Sydney stomping her feet. "She said I have to listen to what she says."

"She's right", answered Damon switching tactics. He remembered what the kindergarten teacher had said about breaking rules. Encouraging his daughter to break the rules was a bad idea. There would probably come a time in her teenage years when she would be doing plenty of that anyway. "You have to listen to Elisa because she's always going to do things for your own good. But when I'm around you can play with real food. I'll ask Elisa about it if it makes you feel better."

Sydney looked at the tray of food. She was tempted by the idea of it. "Okay", she agreed.

"Perfect then", he said and sat down cross legged by her table and Sydney came around and sat down next to him. "So what did you do all day?" asked Damon.

She grabbed one of the cookies from the plate and said, "Elisa taught me ABC. I still can't remember them all. There are too many of them!" she said in a tired tone. "Then I had to give Wally a time out AGAIN because he was being mean to Cindy", she said referring to her toys by the names she had given them. "I only let Wally come to my tea party because you were late." Then she thought for a while and finally said, "That's it! Where did you and Uncle Stefan go?"

"We went to see your grandmother. Remember how we had to go out of town to talk to her?"

Sydney nodded in agreement and said, "At the field with all those stones. When can I see her again?"

"Do you want to see her again?" he asked surprised by his daughter's request. Sydney nodded as she drank her chocolate milk. "Then we'll go see her sometime soon", he agreed. She then silent finished drinking her chocolate milk. Putting her cup down, she noticed Damon hadn't touched his. She took it up and handed it to him. "You have to drink the tea too otherwise the tea party can't be over", she said.

"Maybe I don't want this tea party to be over", he said referring not just to their little game but also to a lot of other things in his life.

"But if you don't end it, how can we start a new game?" she asked him.

Her words made Damon pause. She was right. Without even realising it, his three year old daughter was giving him the advice that he needed. Her words, though phrased simply, held a lot of meaning. "You really are a smart girl", he told her. He took the cup from her hand and drank wishing that ending things in real life were as simple as drinking a cup of chocolate milk. Damon spent the entire evening with Sydney and before he knew it, Elisa was at her room calling them both down for dinner. Neither father nor daughter was happy with the interruption but they both made their way down to the dinner table and while they ate, Sydney filled him in on what had happened after the men and women had split at the Grill. She couldn't stop talking about her new friends. After dinner, they stayed up a little longer as Sydney stalled trying to delay her bedtime. She was having way too much fun to want to go to sleep.

It took a while but Damon was finally able to convince Sydney that she needed to sleep. He tucked her in and turned off the lights and turned on the lamp on her bedside table. He opened on of her favourite books but she said, "I don't want to hear that story. I want to hear one about you when you were younger."

Damon wasn't sure what story he could tell her. He settled for the safest story he could think of. "When Uncle Stefan was about your age, your grandmother used to take him out with her when she needed to go to the store. One day, when she needed to go out, I was home and so she decided to leave him with me. I was 7 years old back then and I didn't want to hang out with my little brother. So I left Uncle Stefan in my room and went out through the window. Uncle Stefan tried to call me and ask me to come back but I didn't listen to him. Instead I went to the lake. When your grandmother came home she found Uncle Stefan crying in my room thinking I wasn't going to come back. Your grandmother was so worried, she called your grandfather and the police and just about everyone else she could think of. And you know what I had done?" She shook her head no. "I had gone for a swim and gotten tired. I had fallen asleep by the lake", he said with a short laugh. "Uncle Stefan and I always managed to scare your grandmother."

"And then what happened?" she asked sleepily. Damon could tell she was almost asleep.

He said, "They looked for me everywhere but couldn't find me. I finally came back home hours later and when they asked me where I had been I told them that since they wouldn't let me go had I told them, I slipped out to the lake without telling anyone. Your grandfather was furious but your grandmother was just happy to see me. Since then she and I always went to the lake every weekend and then after she had to go away, I went with Uncle Stefan and now I have you to take with me." He looked down and saw Sydney was asleep. He leaned down and kissed her forehead and said, "Good night, baby." He switched off the table lamp and went back to his room.

Elisa had already left for the day and with Sydney asleep, the house was silent once more. Damon didn't want to go to bed. Despite how gloomy his day had seemed in the morning, it had improved a lot in the evening. He hadn't had the opportunity to really sit down and spend some time with his daughter. Now that he had, he knew he wanted to make sure he spent at least a little while with her. She was the light in his life right now. He realised that with her around, he was never truly lost. He thought back to Sydney's words about ending the game to begin a new one and he reminded himself that he wasn't just letting a good day end he was making it possible for another good day to begin. For the first time in a long time, Damon thought that maybe, just maybe, things might get better for them. Maybe there was still hope.


	7. Optimism

_AN: Another week, another chapter. I haven't really proof read it so if you find any errors please let me know. And thank you so much for all those really nice reviews you've been leaving me and also for all the follows and favourites. So here's the next chapter. I hope you like it!_

Elena didn't have to wait long for Bonnie to get back home. As soon as she stepped into the house Bonnie noticed the grin on Elena's face and accused her saying, "You knew!"

"So?" asked Elena expectantly and Bonnie held up her left hand to show her the engagement ring Jeremy had picked out for her. Bonnie said, "I'm getting married!" as she hugged her friend. Elena forgot all about the events of the evening as Bonnie recounted the date that Jeremy had taken her on and after the second consecutive late night, both girls had fallen asleep. The week wore on much as usual and before they knew it, it was already Friday evening.

Elena stood in her room holding up a blue peplum dress. The colour was rich and she hoped would blend in well at the event. Elena had never been one for dressing up and as a result she had always hated the Lockwood party. Deciding that the dress was good enough, she changed and slipped on her black stilettos and accessorised with a black clutch and looked at herself in the mirror. She was glad to see that she looked presentable but she was still nervous. She wasn't going to the party as just another attendee this time. This time, she was going there as a journalist. She wanted to do a good job on her article and the thought just made her nerves skyrocket.

She stepped out of the room and called out to Bonnie. "Are you ready, yet?"

Bonnie stepped out of her own room wearing a black and white fitted dress. "Jeremy just said that he'd pick me up. First event as an engaged couple and all", she said rolling her eyes. Bonnie might have been excited about the upcoming wedding but she wasn't one for formalities. "Why don't you go ahead and I'll catch up with you there?"

Elena grabbed her recorder and a little notepad and put it in her bag. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and headed out.

The minute she entered the Lockwood mansion, she thought back to the many parties she had attended with Caroline and Bonnie while they had still been in school. Of course those parties hadn't been formal events. They had been wild parties with loud music and under aged drinking. She felt a little nervous and wished Jenna and Alaric or Bonnie and Jeremy would show up soon. She did her best to mingle, politely greeting the few people she knew. It wasn't long before she caught sight of blonde hair. "Caroline?" she asked. Caroline turned around and gave her a huge smile. "Elena! I'm so glad you're here. I thought for a second I was going to end up on my own."

"Isn't Stefan with you?" asked Elena.

"He is. He's talking to Carol Lockwood about some case. He's a founding family member even if he hasn't been here in a long time and lawyer to other founding families", said Caroline with a sigh. "It looks like coming back here just got him more clients."

"I didn't know the Salvatores were one of the founding families", said Elena. "How come I've never heard of them?"

"I hadn't heard of them until my parents moved me to Richmond either but my parents knew their parents and I'm sure yours would have too", answered Caroline. "They moved to Richmond when Stefan was still 13 years, a year after his mother passed away. Even when they were here, they attended the private school just like the Lockwoods. In fact, Stefan and Tyler were friends back when they were still in school."

That explanation made sense to Elena. "There must be someone you know here", she said.

"That someone happens to be you", said Caroline. "I just lost touch with everyone here. I can't really carry a conversation with anyone here. But why are you roaming around like a lost puppy. I figured you would know everyone here considering how you grew up here and all."

"I've been attending this party every year since I started college but the only reason I survive them is because I have Bonnie with me. Jeremy's driving her here so I'm here alone."

"The let's be alone together", said Caroline firmly. The girls got their drinks and made some small talk until they saw Jeremy walk in with Bonnie on his arm. "Is that your brother?" asked Caroline.

"The one and only", answered Elena.

"The last time I saw him he was a scrawny kid", said Caroline with a laugh.

When the couple approached them, Caroline said, "Hello, Mr Gilbert and future Mrs Gilbert", earning a laugh from Bonnie.

"I guess Elena already spilled the beans?" asked Bonnie.

"Of course she did. She can't keep happy new to herself", said Caroline.

"Weren't you guys close to picking a date?" asked Elena.

"We were thinking of a June wedding", answered Jeremy. "We can't be sure of exactly when until we pick out the venue and make sure the place is free. But if not June it will be earlier."

"It's lovely that time of the year", said Caroline. "Stefan and I got married in June too."

"Yes we did", said Stefan appearing out of nowhere. "Caroline planned the whole thing." Stefan beamed at his wife.

"So the Carol Lockwood finally let you go?" asked Caroline.

"She really just wants to win this case and she's making sure I'm doing everything in my power as her lawyer", he answered. "Have you seen Damon?"

"He was with me until somebody from the paper asked to speak to him", said Caroline. "I think he said his name was Elijah."

"Elijah Mikaelson?" asked Bonnie.

"You know him?" asked Caroline and then corrected herself. "Of course you know him. You work with the paper."

"He's an editor and also my boss. He was the one who offered Elena the extra column", answered Bonnie.

"You got an extra column?" asked Jeremy.

"Yeah. I'm supposed to be covering events and writing about them. I'll be writing twice a week", answered Elena.

"That's great news!" exclaimed Caroline.

Soon they were joined by Jenna and Alaric and for the first time Bonnie was enjoying one of the town's formal events. Alaric was in the middle of a story about the pranks a senior pulled when Damon cut in saying, "Someone save me, now." He gulped down the remnants of his glass and then realised that he had interrupted a conversation and said, "Sorry", sheepishly.

"That's alright", said Ric with a laugh. "I was just telling them about a high school kid who tried to glue on wings to the statue in front of the high school."

"And he got caught?" asked Damon. "You should introduce him to me. I'm sure I could teach him how to pull a prank and actually get away with it."

"I'd rather you teach me how to pull it off", said Alaric.

"Not a chance in hell, Ric. You're a teacher and teaching you my tricks would be a crime", he answered with a serious look on his face.

"What did Elijah want anyway?" asked Caroline.

"He just wanted to talk about my books. And before you say anything I was polite. I answered all the questions I could and even listened to him talk my ears off", he said with a sigh. "Oh and by the way, he thinks you're amazing at your work", he said to Elena making her blush. "Also", he said turning to Stefan, "he's Klaus' older brother."

"You knew Klaus?" asked Jenna. "His brother Kol always got Jeremy into trouble. They were friends while they were in school."

"Sounds like Kol", said Damon with a laugh. "Everyone always thought Klaus and Kol were trouble but for the most part it was just innocent fun. I hung out with them so I can attest to that. The only reason it seemed like they were causing trouble was because neither of them was exceptionally bright. Their plans always went wrong and they always ended up creating a huge mess."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but Damon's right about Klaus and Kol", said Stefan. "They aren't so bad."

"Say what you want to but anyone who got Jeremy in trouble is a bad influence in my book", said Jenna.

"Jenna, you do remember that I was no saint myself right?" asked Jeremy incredulously.

"Yeah but she was your guardian", said Alaric with a laugh. "The only way she could defend you was if she made herself believe you were one."

"Hey, isn't that Meredith Fell?" asked Stefan staring at the woman in the distance.

"Yeah, she is", answered Elena. "Did you guys know her?"

"She was in my class", said Damon. "I think I'll go say 'hi' although I doubt if she remembers me."

"Be careful though", said Alaric. "She's the ME now. If you piss her off, she could kill you and sign off on your death as an accident." Damon tipped his glass to Ric acknowledging what he said and went on to talk to her.

Bonnie nudged Elena and whispered to her friend, "Remembered how I told you Katherine looked familiar?" Elena nodded. "I think I know why now. Look straight ahead." Elena looked up and saw Katherine talking to Richard Lockwood. What surprised her though was that Elijah was standing next to her with his arm around her. Bonnie continued in a whisper, "Katherine is Elijah's girlfriend. He has a picture of them together on his table. That's why I recognised her."

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Jenna breaking Elena and Bonnie out of their world.

"Well", said Bonnie hesitating. She didn't know what to say.

"Caroline, Katherine's here", said Elena knowing that beating around the bush wouldn't help. Caroline and Stefan both turned around to see her standing a few feet away from them. "Bonnie told me at the Grill the other day that she thought she recognised Katherine from somewhere. Turns out she's seen pictures of her on Elijah's desk. She's probably his girlfriend."

Damon picked that instant to return to his friends. "She did remember me and I'm pretty sure I pissed her off. So in case I die could one of you put in a request to the coroner's office that I want someone else to perform the autopsy on me?" He then noticed the serious expression on everyone's face. Every time someone gave him that look, he knew they were going to give him bad news. "What's wrong?" he asked dreading the answer.

"Katherine's here", said Stefan softly. "We think she's with Elijah."

That was the big bad news, wondered Damon with a sense of relief. "I knew that already", he said and noticed that Stefan and Caroline both visibly relaxed. "Klaus warned me when he found out that I was moving back to Mystic Falls. He also said that Elijah didn't know who Katherine was married to and he asked me to keep it that way." From then on the mood was a little tense. Stefan and Caroline were always on the lookout making sure that Katherine didn't get anywhere near them. Soon Jenna dragged Alaric to the dance floor and Jeremy and Bonnie joined them as well. Damon caught the look of worry on his brother's face and said to him, "Would you stop that. I'll be fine. And you", he said to Caroline, "you can stop scanning the room for her. I'm sure Katherine knew that I would be here. She has more to lose than I do from Elijah finding out so she's going to do everything in her power not to run into me. Now, why don't you go join the couples on the dance floor? It looks like fun and I know Caroline loves to dance", he said and Stefan gave him another concerned look but he noticed Caroline looking longingly at the dance floor. Stefan gave up and took Caroline's hand and led her to the dance floor. Once they were both out of earshot, Damon said, "I thought they would never leave!"

"You don't mean that", said Elena.

"Actually, I do. I love them but sometimes they treat me like a child and that's something I really don't like", he said.

"I don't mean to pry but why are you keeping Katherine's secret from Elijah?" she asked curious.

"I don't get why people say that they don't mean to pry when they know they're asking a very invasive question", he said shooting her a meaningful look. "I'm keeping quiet because Klaus asked me to and I owe him one. Elijah's happy and he doesn't want to ruin it and I get that. Although I'm surprised how a former investigative journalist can be okay with not knowing his girlfriend's history."

"I guess he loves her enough to let go of his curiosity", she said without thinking.

"She really is better off with him", said Damon as he watched Katherine and Elijah at the far side of the room. "She seems happy." Elena looked up at him and she could tell that he looked sad. It was clear to her that he really did love Katherine. She just couldn't believe the woman was willing to throw it all away.

She didn't know what to say except "I'm sorry about Katherine."

"Don't be", he said giving her a sad smile. "I made my bed and now I have to lie in it." After that little exchange Damon grew quiet. She watched him as he tried his best to watch his brother and sister in law on the dance floor but his eyes kept wandering to which ever corner of the room Katherine was at. "They're engaged?" he asked cutting into her thoughts.

"Who?" she asked. Following his line of sight she found Katherine and Elijah dancing together. She then noticed a ring on her left hand which she had placed on Elijah's shoulder. "Katherine and Elijah? I don't know."

"She wasn't wearing that ring when I saw her the other day at the Grill", he said. "I guess it just happened."

Elena could see he was struggling. "Why don't we go outside and take a little walk? I'm sure you could use some fresh air", she said taking Damon's hand. She slowly led him out the back door of the mansion and as they walked along the lawn, she asked him, "How's Sydney doing?"

"She's great", he said seeming a little distracted. "She keeps talking about the night she met you and Jenna at the Grill." He shook his head trying to dispel thoughts of Katherine. "Enough about me", he said sighing. "Let's talk about something else. How's everything going at work?"

"Work's great", she said smiling. "I got a second column. I'm supposed to be writing about various events around the country. We're starting with things close to home but soon I'll get to travel."

"You like travelling?" he asked.

"I can't really say", she answered. "I haven't really travelled much. The furthest I've been from home is New York City."

"You've never travelled?" asked Damon, his eyes widening. "You've been missing out. You have got to explore the country. I'm not talking about some silly trip where you have everything planned and booked. You should just take off on a whim and figure things out as they come. You can learn so much that way."

"So I take it you travel a lot", said Elena.

"I used to", said Damon. "I haven't really been anywhere since Sydney was born. I did take her to Florida once. I don't think she liked it but then again, she was 2 so I don't think she would have liked being anywhere away from her toys."

"You forgot to take her toys?" asked Elena with a laugh.

"I didn't forget them as much as I didn't realise she would want them", answered Damon nervously. "I'm terrible with kids. When Sydney was born I wasn't ready to be a father at all. I just learnt how to deal with her by trial and error and trust me there were a lot of errors. Ask Caroline if you want to. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to tell you about all the times I screwed up", he said with a laugh. By then, there were already far away from all the other party goers. They turned back around and looked back at the house. "I still can't believe I'm a father sometimes."

"I'm sure you're doing a great job", said Elena.

"And what makes you say that?" asked Damon.

"I got to spend a little time with her, remember? She made it very clear in that time that she adores you. You must be doing something right", she answered.

"We should go back inside", said Damon abruptly. Elena shot him a confused look and he answered, "If Caroline or my brother find out what happened, I'm sure they'll never let me out of their sight for as long as I'm alive!"

"They're just worried about you", said Elena.

"I know but I don't want them to. They literally put their own lives on hold and moved here to Mystic Falls for me. I really wish they didn't have to do that", said Damon. They had both made it back inside by then. Elena scanned the crowd and saw that her friends were all still dancing. Watching them made her wish she could be there with them too. "Would you like to dance?" she heard Damon ask next to her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea", said Elena reluctantly.

"Why not?" Damon almost whined. "Were you born with two left feet or something?" he questioned.

Elena turned on her feet so she was now face to face with him and said, "I'll have you know that I happen to be excellent at dancing."

"Oh yeah?" asked Damon. "Then prove it to me", he said holding his hand out to her. She really did want to dance and if someone was actually offering to be her partner, she decided that turning him down would be a bad idea. She took his hand and he led her to the floor. He quickly twirled her and then pulled her in close as they danced. They shared smiles once in a while but other than that, they were both quiet. "You're not so bad", said Damon suddenly.

"Told you so", she said smirking at him.

"You told me you were excellent", said Damon looking confused. "I said you weren't so bad. Those are two entirely different things", he said. "Your footwork could use some work", he added with a wink.

"This way if the guy I'm dancing with annoys me I could just step on his foot and call it an accident", Elena said without missing a beat.

"You're scary", he said pretending to pull away from her. "No wonder you're friends with Caroline", he added with a laugh. After that they kept up the light banter as they danced. A while later, Damon said, "Would you mind if we sat down for a while? Clearly I don't have your stamina."

"Not at all", she said with a smile and they walked back to the fringe of the crowd together. He soon caught sight of Caroline and Stefan standing a little ways off whispering and smiling. "It's nice to see them this way – all happy and smiling", he said softly. "My broody brother could use someone like her in his life."

"I get what you mean", said Elena. "I feel the same way about Jeremy and Bonnie."

"Do you see the old married couple?" asked Damon. Elena immediately started searching the room but she couldn't find them. Damon pointed to the far corner of the room where Jenna and Ric sitting on a couch together. They both looked tired to the point of nodding off. Elena laughed as she watched her aunt trying her best not to fall asleep. "Earlier tonight I thought Ric was cool", said Damon. "But now I'm taking that back."

"I think I should go check on them and send them home", said Elena. "I'll probably head home right after that too. It's late and I'm pretty sure nothing news worthy is going to be happening around here."

"Knowing Caroline, I'm probably going to be one of the last people here. So if anything news worthy happens", he said making air quotes with a wicked smile on his face. His voice dropped off as his eyes which were wandering about the room caught sight of Katherine smiling softly at him. Her smile seemed genuine and it seemed to say, 'I'm happy for you.'

Elena noticed the exchange and she knew she needed to distract him and so she drew his attention back to her asking, "You will tell me all about so I can write about it and be the golden girl of my newspaper?"

"No", said Damon with a smirk. "I was about to say I would write an exclusive article about it and after publishing it on some newspaper I would send you the link so you can read all about it."

Elena rolled her eyes at him. "Good night, Damon", she said smiling at him and then walked off to get Jenna and Ric. Damon watched her as she made her way to the couch and sat down next to them with a stern look on her face. It looked as if Elena was a parent giving her teenage children a serious talking to. He smiled at the thought and he started looking for Caroline and Stefan again wondering if it would be safe to join the love birds. Halfway across the room, he saw Katherine again and this time she was walking towards the exit, arm in arm with Elijah Mikaelson and immediately his mood darkened. He wondered how the mere presence of one woman could have such an effect on him. He had been truly happy in the last hour or so he had spent dancing with and talking to Elena. She had done an amazing job of keeping him distracted. It was as if she knew that that was what he wanted. Damn Stefan and his stupid idea of dealing with his feelings, his way was working surprisingly well. In a split second Damon made up his mind and sprinted towards Elena and stopped her just before she stepped out of the house. "Would you like to come over sometime?" he asked her before he lost his nerve. "Sydney's been talking about you all week and I know she would love to spend some more time with you. And besides, I would really like her to have some female influence other than Caroline's."

"Sure", she said slowly. "I don't see why not. Why don't I call you later and we could set something up that would be convenient for the both of us?" she asked.

Damon grinned at her. "Sydney's being home schooled she has no other plans. You can drop in whenever you like." They then exchanged numbers with Damon promising to let Sydney badger her if she didn't call to make plans with her and then the two parted ways. Damon turned back and almost walked right into Caroline who was beaming at him. "You two look adorable together", she said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Damon casually.

"You and Elena. I was watching the two of you dance and you like her don't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I like her. Turns out she's a really good friend which is exactly what I need right now", he said and walked back into the room.

Caroline followed him asking, "So I didn't hear you making plans with her?"

"I did. Sydney seems to be in love with her and she's asked me multiple times if Elena could come over and I promised her that she could. What you heard was me making good on that promise", he answered her.

"There really is nothing going on between the two of you?" Caroline needed confirmation.

"No there isn't. Like I said, she is a friend. She seems to recognise the fact that I need a distraction and she's doing a great job so far", he answered. As they reached Stefan, Damon said thoughtfully, "You know what? This whole mess hasn't been a complete loss. Thanks to my divorce I actually have a much better relationship with the two of you and that does mean something."

"Since when did you become a glass half full kind of person?" asked Stefan.

"I don't know. It's just that I've been spending more and more time with Sydney and it's been great. We play together for a while and she talks to me about what she did all day and what she learnt. It's like we're a father and daughter again and I like that feeling. And then today, I spent all that time with Elena and I was actually happy. We joked and we danced and it turns out when you don't snap at people, you actually end up having a good time." He took a deep breath as he contemplated how exactly to phrase what was on his mind to make sure that Caroline and Stefan understood what he wanted to say. Finally he said, "I'm not saying that my life doesn't suck because it does. I'm just saying that it doesn't suck as much as I once thought that it did."

"Do you really mean what you just said or are you just saying it to make us think you're past the whole Katherine fiasco so your brother and I get off your back?" Caroline asked suspiciously.

"I didn't say I'm over Katherine. I know I would be lying if I did. I'm just saying that there are some other positives in my life that I've ignored over the past year and maybe it's time I focus on them for a while."

"So you're just selling your avoidance idea?" asked Stefan, finally understanding what Damon was saying.

Damon grinned at him and said, "I'm glad that four year college course wasn't a complete waste in your case."

"Alright, alright", said Caroline changing the topic of conversation completely. "I'm tired. Let's go back home."

"You want to leave?" asked Damon clutching his heart pretending to be shocked. "But there are still about a dozen people left here."

"Well, listening to you saying things that make sense has been such a shock to my system and I need to recover", she said smiling at him.

"It's settled then", said Stefan as he wrapped his arm around Caroline. "Let's get out of here."

"Hold on", drew out Damon. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"Why would you say that?" sputtered Stefan.

"You are such a bad liar", accused Damon.

"It's nothing", said Caroline but even under the dull lighting, he could tell that she was blushing. "We'll see you later. And when you schedule that play date for Sydney with Elena, let me know. I want to be there too."

He tried to stare them down but after a while he realised that his efforts were going to be in vain and so he relented saying, "I will find out" and walked away to his car. He waved at the two before he got into the car and drove home, ready for the day to end.


	8. Distractions

_AN: So here's the next chapter. It's a bit rushed cos I've been drowning in course work all week. I was hoping with TVD being on another break I would update more often but clearly, my college has other plans. I'm really sorry I haven't replied to any of your comments from this week. I have been reading them and it really does mean a lot to me that you take the time out to actually tell me what you think. So please do review and follow and favourite. I promise to catch up with it all at some point. Anyway, I hope you like this next chapter!_

When Damon walked into his house the next afternoon, in time for lunch he heard laughter echoing from within. He might not be exceptionally bright but he knew that if Sydney was that happy, it probably meant Caroline was with her and they were probably turning his house upside down. So he was surprised to see Elena sitting next to Sydney by the kitchen counter. Elena turned around when she heard the door opening and when she saw Damon she smiled and said, "I hope you don't mind me being here. Caroline woke me up in the morning and dragged me here."

"Oh sure, blame it all on me", they heard Caroline call out from the other room making Sydney giggle.

"We were just planning Bonnie's bachelorette party. We wanted to plan and have one quickly or she'll end up finding out about it and it would just ruin the surprise", said Elena.

Just then Elisa walked into the kitchen and said, "Lunch is ready so I want you all washed up and at the table in five minutes."

"Yes ma'am", called out Damon with a huge grin and walked up to his room. The girls were soon seated at the table. Caroline had a huge binder open in front of her and while Elena came up with ideas she wrote them down. Damon soon joined them and Elisa showed up once more to chastise Caroline telling her to put her binder away. Damon smirked at her saying, "It's nice having company for lunch. This way, Elisa has more people to pick on and she leaves me alone." Caroline just glared at him from across the table but she did put the binder away.

"You seem to be in a good mood", said Elena.

"I am", answered Damon simply.

Elena was about to ask him to elaborate but before she could say anything, Caroline cut her off saying, "Don't bother asking him about it. You might as well be talking to a wall."

"Where's Stefan?" asked Damon.

"He's meeting a client. He should be here in about an hour", answered Caroline. Lunch went on without much incident. A little while later, Damon put Sydney down for a nap and went back to his office room leaving the girls to their planning. He powered up his laptop and read the last thing he had written at Stefan and Caroline's house. It didn't take him a long time to realise that he didn't like it. He debated deleting the entire file for a few minutes and then simply closed it and opened a new one. He felt like he was back at square one – his mind was as blank as the page in front of him. As he sat there, he felt his earlier good mood slowly dissipate. His mind wandered along until he heard a knock on his door before it was pushed open to reveal Caroline. "We're about to leave. Stefan just got here and Elena's willing to stay until Sydney wakes up if you want to work", she told him. He then noticed that Damon looked a little frustrated. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah", answered Damon sighing. "I'm trying to write and I just can't get anything out and it's annoying."

"I know I've been on your case to start writing again but if you need more time, take it. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to help anyone."

"I know", he agreed.

"Come on, you're officially on a break today", she said as she signalled to the door. He got up and dragged his feet all the way to the hall and then bid his brother and sister in law goodbye. He then turned to Elena and said, "You don't have to stay, you know? Caroline promised me she would watch Sydney all day so I could work but since I'm done for the day I can take over."

"Well, I kinda promised Sydney I'll be here when she wakes up so if you don't mind I'd like to stay until she wakes up and then I'll leave."

"I don't mind at all. But be warned once she wakes up she's not going to want you to go and she always gets her way", he said with a smile. He waved her over to the couch.

She sat down next to him and said, "You don't seem to mind. Most parents worry that their children are being spoilt."

"Well, I guess I'm not most parents", he said. They both went silent for a while until Damon spoke up again. "I haven't had any company in a while unless you count Stefan and Caroline so I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I don't have a clue as to how to play host", he said a little nervously.

"Is the great Damon Salvatore nervous?" she asked with a laugh. "You don't have to do anything. Just carry on a normal conversation and be polite."

"Did you just ask me to be polite?" Damon asked sceptically. "You really are Caroline's friend."

"Any progress on the writing?" she asked.

"No. Absolutely none. But I do think I'm heading somewhere. I read something I wrote a few days ago and recognised it as complete crap. Does that count?" he asked.

"I don't think so", said Elena. "Do you want to know what I think?" Damon nodded. "I think you're trying too hard."

"Are you sure you're talking about me?" asked Damon with a laugh. "I've always been accused of not trying hard enough, never of trying too hard."

"I'm serious", she said. "You can't write something good just because you want to, you know that."

"I know. I'm always clear headed when I start writing anything", said Damon as he leaned back in his couch. "Right now, that's just not happening. Everything that's going on just has my brain in a scramble and I just can't do anything to make it stop and that just frustrates me more. At this point I've given up on things every getting better. I've adopted the avoidance technique."

"I've noticed", said Elena. "But Damon, just because things aren't going well for you right now doesn't mean that they never will."

"There was a time when I really believed that but life has taught me that I was wrong and the sooner I can accept that and move on, the better it will be for everyone in my life", he said staring off into the distance.

"It was the opposite in my case", said Elena thoughtfully.

That brought Damon's attention back to the conversation at hand and he asked, "What do you mean?"

"My parents died in a car crash when I was 16. I was in the car with them and I somehow survived. It was actually my fault my parents were on the road in the first place so I had managed to convince myself that the only reason I had survived was to live out the rest of my life alone and miserable as punishment. And I was miserable but I later realised that it was only because I was going out of my way to make sure that I wasn't happy. No one was punishing me except me. So one day I woke up and decided that I was going to let it go. If the opportunity presented itself for me to do something that I liked, then I would take it. I felt guilty at first but as more time by, I realised I had nothing to feel guilty about. I realised that what happened wasn't my fault. It was just bad weather." Damon watched her silently for a long time. When Elena started to feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny, she asked, "What's going on through your head right now?"

"I know what it feels like to feel responsible for things going horribly wrong. The guilt eats at you until there's nothing left. How can someone possibly get past that?" he asked softly.

"It takes time, a lot of it. It took me three years to stop blaming myself for my parents' death", she answered. "I know it's hard but I just don't think you should give up just yet."

"I'll keep that in mind", said Damon but she knew he was still unconvinced.

"You said you were going down the avoidance road, right?" she asked him. Damon nodded. "Then let's get you a distraction. Sydney isn't going to be up for another half an hour so why don't we come up with something that would blow her mind."

Damon smiled at her. "That's a great idea. There's just one thing she loves more than a tea party", he said as he got on his feet.

"What is that?" she asked looking up at him.

"A pillow fort", he said like it was the most obvious thing on earth. He held his hand out to Elena and pulled her up. "It's easy to set it up too. She likes to help me build it so all I have to do is make sure that she has enough pillows and sheets to do it. Come on, Gilbert, you can help me carry them to her room", he said as he made his way up the stairs. Halfway to the top he stopped and turned around to look at her. "And Elena?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Thank you", he said simply.

"You're welcome", she answered and followed him up the stairs to the linen closet and got out some sheets and extra pillows and the Salvatores had a lot of extra pillows.

"Why do I have a feeling that you caused some kind of pillow deficit whenever you bought all of this?" asked Elena.

"That's because we did", Damon said seriously. "It was all over the news. Didn't you read about it?"

"It was probably on the tabloids. I prefer not to read those", answered Elena

"It was. It was also the only detail they got right about me in the last year", he said.

"That's probably because you weren't trying very hard to answer their questions", replied Elena.

"Most of what they wrote about me was pretty mean", he said putting the pillows down in Sydney's room. "When news broke out that Katherine and I were getting a divorce, the tabloids automatically took her side. They speculated that I had been cheating on her or that I didn't care about her and Sydney anymore. I was annoyed but I didn't see why I had to explain myself to a complete stranger."

"You didn't deserve that", said Elena agreeing with him. "But you could have just spilled the truth and everyone would have stopped with the speculation."

"Clearly you don't know tabloids. If I went out and told them everything, they would either call me a liar or they would turn on Katherine. Even if she was the one who wanted the divorce, it doesn't mean things were easy for her", he said sitting down on one of the chairs in Sydney's room.

"You're defending her again", said Elena with a soft smile. "This is exactly what I was doing as well. You blamed yourself for the divorce and you wanted to be miserable so you protected her from the tabloids at your own expense." She sighed. "Damon, if you want a distraction, I'm on board. But you're my friend now and I'm not going to let you go any deeper into this depressive spiral you already seem to be in."

"What if I'm in too deep?" he asked, his eyes bored into hers.

"You're never in too deep", she said firmly.

"I thought you were all for the distraction plan?" he asked pointing at the pillows.

"I am", she answered. "You know, I always thought of pillow forts as a boy's game."

"I guess it might be", said Damon thinking about it for the first time. "Stefan and I used to build them when we were younger and it was one of the few things we both liked. So one day when I got bored of her endless tea parties, I came up with idea of building a fort and she loved it. Only, sometimes she makes it a palace and she pretends to be the queen." Sydney began to stir. "Looks like someone's finally waking up", he said.

"She sure can sleep like a rock and it's a good thing too. Her father's a loud talker", said Elena with a laugh.

"You think I'm loud?" he asked and Elena nodded. "You should hear my dad talk you'd be able to hear him from across the house!"

"That's your excuse?"

"Of course it is. I can't think of a better one", he said.

"I'm surprised your dad isn't here in Mystic Falls", Elena said mostly to herself.

"That's because he died a couple of years ago", answered Damon.

"I'm sorry to hear that", she said instantly regretting bringing it up.

"Don't be", said Damon. "My dad and I never saw eye to eye. Stefan had a better relationship with him than I did. After my mom died, he would just loose himself to his work. I had to actually threaten him to get him to pay attention to Stefan at first but later, they got along a lot better." He watched Sydney as she sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. She was staring at the pillows and then at Damon and Elena in turn but she still looked a little confused. She got out of her bed in a daze and made her way to Damon and he picked her up and sat her down on his lap. "Are you awake yet?" he asked her. She shook her head no and buried her head against his body ready to go to sleep again. "So you don't want to make a fort today?" Damon asked her again. That caught Sydney's attention and she looked at the pillows longingly. "Elena stayed her all this while just so she could play with you."

Sydney nodded. "But we're playing house this time", she said sternly, slipping off his lap.

Damon groaned. "But I wanted to play fort", he whined.

"But it's my room so I get to choose", said Sydney with an air of finality.

"She's right, you know?" asked Elena smiling at him. Damon rolled her eyes at her and she said, "I'm always going to take the side of the cuter one."

They soon set up the room with the pillows and sheets they had brought out earlier. Damon hung up the sheets to make it look like a ceiling while Sydney and Elena worked together to make a wall out of pillows against one of the corners of the room. When they were done, they were left inside a house with a ceiling so low that Damon and Elena were forced to stay seated cross legged on the floor at all times. "You couldn't have hung the ceiling any higher?" Elena asked him.

"I could have had you made the walls higher. Everybody knows you don't need a lot of floor space", he answered.

"Daddy's right", agreed Sydney. "So you two are my guests now", she continued moving on to her game. She crawled out through their makeshift door and then came back a few seconds later with a tray with three cups on it.

"You're turning it into a tea party", stated Damon.

"No I'm not", said Sydney like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We're not sitting at the tea table."

"She does have a point", said Elena trying not to laugh at Damon's expression of defeat. "Why do you hate tea parties so much? They're so much fun!"

"But it's a girl game", he complained.

"What's wrong with that? Sydney is a girl, you know?" she asked.

"I'm glad you're finding my misery entertaining", he said pretending to sip his tea.

"She really has you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" Elena observed.

"You two talk too much", complained Sydney and Elena could clearly see the resemblance.

"Come here", Damon said pulling her on to his lap. "What do you want to talk about then? This is your house."

"I want to talk about…" she stalled trying to come up with something she would really like. "Tangled!" she said finally.

"Tangled, the movie?" Elena asked just to clarify.

Sydney shook her head happily. "I'm going to grow my hair like that too when I'm older. Daddy won't let me do it now. He always makes me cut it", she said twirling a lock of her hair between her fingers. Elena immediately recognised that gesture. It was something Caroline did when she was lost in thought.

"And will you tell Elena why I won't let you grow your hair out?" prompted Damon.

"Because Daddy says it will all get tangled up", she answered.

"What if I told you your dad isn't being entirely honest with you here?" asked Elena. Sydney's eyes immediately widened.

"Where are you going with this, Gilbert?" Damon asked getting ready to defend himself.

Elena winked at him and said to Sydney, "You're dad just doesn't know how to braid our hair so it doesn't get all tangled up."

"Elena, can you show me how to braid my hair?" Sydney asked her.

"And that's my cue to leave", said Damon. "Dinner will be ready in a couple of hours. I want you two at the table on time." He then left the pillow house trying to make sure he did as little damage as possible to the house. He quickly walked down the stairs and picked up his phone which he had apparently left in the living area. He looked at the screen and saw two missed calls – one from Caroline and the other from Katherine – and also a message from Stefan. Damon pressed play on the message and he heard Caroline's voice telling him that the publishers had gotten in touch with her again and they were starting to get very nervous that he hasn't delivered yet. He opened his text screen and typed out a message to Caroline telling her that he was trying as hard as he could and then sent it to her.

He then took a seat on the couch and dialled Katherine's number wondering what she wanted from him this time. She picked up on the second ring, "Damon I'm so glad you called", she said.

"What do you want?" he snapped at her.

"Why do you think I want something from you?" she asked him.

"Because you don't call. So I'm sorry if I'm having trouble believing that you don't have an ulterior motive", he said still in a very snippy tone.

"I just wanted to thank you for not saying a word to Elijah", she said.

"I wasn't doing it for you. I promised Klaus I would keep quiet", he said sighing and regretting his promise to Klaus at the same time.

"I guess I should be grateful for him then despite how cold he's been to me ever since he found out I was dating his brother", she said thoughtfully.

Damon was starting to lose his patience. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No it's not", she said and paused for a minute. "I just want to be the one to tell you about this. I really don't want you finding out from anyone other than me." Her voice was laced with uncertainty and doubts. Damon wondered what she could possibly be nervous about. "Elijah asked me to marry him and I said yes", she blurted out. "I know he doesn't know the truth and I know you think this isn't going to work out but believe me Damon, I'm happy and I'm going to try my best to make it work."

"What do you want from me?" Damon asked again.

"I'll be staying in Mystic Falls now so I was hoping you could do me a favour." When Damon didn't reply, she asked, "Can you just let me know if you're taking Sydney to the Grill or any other place that I might run into her?"

Damon didn't know what to say. He had no idea as to how he was supposed to respond to that bizarre request. He didn't want to have to restrict Sydney's access to places just because she might run into her mother but at the same time he knew that if the two met, it wouldn't end well. So he agreed to keep her posted and hung up immediately. He then leaned back on the chair and stared at the ceiling as his brain tried to form coherent thoughts. He felt betrayed and cheated on. He hadn't felt that way even when he had first heard of her infidelity. He turned his attention to the stairs when he heard someone walking down them.

Seconds later, Elena stood in front of him. "I should leave now. Bonnie wants me back home so we settle on some more details for her wedding", she said before she took in his appearance. "What happened?" she asked.

"Katherine", he said. "She called to tell me that she was going to marry Elijah and that I should keep her posted on Sydney's whereabouts so they don't end up running into each other."

I figured that would work out well for you too", said Elena. "You don't want them running into each other either."

"Believe me, that's the last thing I want", answered Damon bitterly. He got off the couch and made a beeline to his liquor and poured himself a glass. "Would you like some?" he asked her and Elena shook her head no in response. "I'm trying to put this whole thing behind me. I don't want to think about her or love her or feel sorry for her. I really don't but I just don't know how to do it. Every time I think I'm a step closer to moving on, she does something and I end up in square one again." He downed the entire glass in one shot and said, "I don't know how long I can do this before I go insane!"

Elena put a comforting arm on his shoulder. "Damon, it takes time."

"How long?" he shot back.

"I don't know. A lot of time?"

"You have no idea", he answered.

"You're right Damon. I have no idea", agreed Elena. "But I know what it's like to be in pain and I know that you can't rush healing. You've got people who love you all around you so trust me when I say this, you will get through this. It just won't be as soon as you would like it." She then grabbed her coat and left for her own house.

Damon sat at the kitchen table staring at the bottle in his hand. He wished he could just drink it all and forget ever talking to Katherine. He put that thought out of his mind the minute it appeared. His three year old daughter was still in the house and he didn't want her to see him like that. She didn't deserve that but neither did he. Or maybe he did. He knew better than to fall into that line of thought but it was calling to him, tempting him like a siren's song. He wondered what his life would have been like had he not called his mother on the day she had died. His life had been one mess after the other since then. The only real bright spot had been Sydney. Regardless of how things had ended with Katherine, he never regretted having Sydney. On some days, it was thoughts of her that kept him from doing something completely irrational and he was well aware of that. He was finally brought out of his thoughts when Elisa tapped him on his shoulder. He turned around to face her and asked, "What is it?"

"Dinner's ready", she answered giving him a knowing look. Of course, Elisa knew. She could read him like a book. He joined Sydney at the dinner table and the two had a very quiet dinner. Sydney had attempted to start a conversation a couple of times but after he shut her down with one word answers, she had taken the hint and let it go. After dinner, he did go upstairs to read her bedtime story and Sydney for her part pretended like nothing was wrong. His daughter was definitely perceptive and he knew she had picked up on the fact that he was upset but he was glad that she had decided not to voice those concerns.

When he made it back downstairs, Elisa was waiting for him. "What are you trying to do?" she asked him.

"Honestly? I have no idea", admitted Damon.

"What happened?"

"Katherine called me", he said simply and Elisa understood. "Before you say anything, let me tell you that I'm trying. I'm trying my best to get over this but I just can't."

"I know", answered Elisa sympathetically. "Although I do wish you would put a little more effort into making sure that Sydney stayed in the dark about all this. You know she picks up on your moods right? Kids are good at that."

"I know", said Damon. "Sydney's smart and contrary to what is probably popular belief, I have noticed."

"Would you mind if I gave you a piece of advice?" she asked. "Avoidance isn't going to help you. All you're doing is pretending that all those awful things didn't happen. You keep yourself busy and you manage to forget it temporarily. But once you're alone again, you remember them. You realise that your problems haven't gone anywhere and that makes you upset. I know your brother gives you enough grief about it but he's right. You need to face your problems and not hide from them. Facing them makes them go away, running away doesn't. Just remember that."

Damon nodded and said, "I will. Good night, Elisa."

"Good night, Damon."

Damon's mind wandered back to Caroline's voice mail as he sat down on the couch, knowing he wouldn't be sleeping tonight. He wondered what he would do about it. He decided to talk to Caroline in the morning and find a way to get out of the deal. He was convinced that he wouldn't be able to write anything worthwhile anytime soon. He hadn't written in over a year and he had no hopes that his writer's block would just somehow disappear. He made a mental note to ask Caroline about it. With the Salvatore mills doing well, he knew that he didn't really need the income from his book to give Sydney everything she needed and more. He would have to look into expanding the business soon and he decided that that would be his new distraction. It wasn't fair to treat people he as distractions and he realised that now. And that was Damon's last coherent thought that night before he finally fell asleep.


	9. Flashes

_AN: Finally, another chapter! I'm trying to be good and update more often but I'm failing...miserably. Thank you so much for the reviews and comments and follows and favourites. I love hearing what you have to say. SO anyway, here's the new chapter. I hope you like it!_

Damon woke up the next morning feeling strangely refreshed. He looked to his left and saw his door open wide. He looked around his room and soon found his daughter sitting at the foot of the bed talking to her bear. He got off his bed and sat down next to her. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked her.

"I woke up and you were still asleep so I thought I would sleep here with you. But your phone was too loud", she said scrunching up her nose in disgust.

Damon got up and picked up his phone. Turning on the screen, he saw he had two missed calls and a voice message from Caroline. He pressed play and heard Caroline's voice saying, "Hey, wake up sleepy head. Call me when you're up." He wondered if Caroline calling him this early was a good thing or a bad thing but, he thought her voice sounded cheerful and decided to call her immediately. Caroline answered the call most immediately with "It's 9 am Salvatore. What were you doing sleep this late?" Caroline now sounded irritated.

"I don't know", he answered preparing himself for a huge lecture from Caroline. "Even Sydney was up before I was."

"Well, It doesn't matter any way", she said and her voice turned cheerful again. "You remember that nice little restaurant they opened up just over a year ago called The Bay? We're having dinner there together. Be there by 7 pm and no excuses."

"I'll be there", he confirmed.

"Great", answered Caroline. "I still have to make reservations. I'll talk to you tonight. Oh and Stefan says hi. Bye!" Caroline hung up before he could get another word in.

Damon stood in his room staring at his phone screen which now showed that the call had been disconnected. "That wasn't strange at all", he said to himself. He then went and sat back down next to Sydney and asked her, "What's worse - angry Aunt Caroline or excited Aunt Caroline?"

"Angry Aunt Caroline", answered Sydney without missing a beat. "But she's never angry with me. She said she could never be angry with me", she said beaming up at him.

"Well consider yourself lucky then", he said to her with a wink. "Now about that bath."

"Can we please skip it?" she asked drawing out the please, looking at him with wide eyes.

Damon shook his head and laughed. "How about this – let's have a bath and then breakfast and then we could go over to the park. Then in the evening we'll go out with Aunt Caroline and Uncle Stefan."

"Okay", said Sydney nodding happily. She was quickly on her feet, making her way to her room.

"Note for later", he said to himself once Sydney was out of ear shot. "Promise to take 3 year old out and said 3 year old will agree to anything you say." He then went to her room and helped her have her bath and change into fresh clothes. He then brought her to her room and left her on the floor to play with her coloured blocks as he had his own bath and then made breakfast for the both of them.

Breakfast was a peaceful affair. They ate as usual with Sydney talking about one thing or the other. Damon listened to her intently but he couldn't help it when his mind flashed to an earlier time. He was sitting at the table with Katherine next to him. A baby monitor stood on the table between the both of them. Katherine was reading a magazine that she had opened on the table. "Didn't anyone tell you not to read at the dining table?" Damon asked bringing her out of the magazine she was so engrossed in.

Katherine smirked in response and said, "Says the guy who was raised by a pack of wolves!"

"It's not my fault my mom died when I was a kid", said Damon softly and he turned back to his breakfast.

Katherine kicked herself for being so inconsiderate. She rubbed his arm getting his attention, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I just wasn't thinking."

Damon stared at his breakfast intently for a while before his face broke into a smile and he was soon laughing. "After all these years, I can't believe you feel for that", he said still laughing uncontrollably.

"You are a terrible person", said Katherine playfully swatting his arm. "You got me so worried, you know that?"

"So you worry about me?" he asked grinning at her. Katherine wasn't really into the whole sloppy romance thing so any time he considered any time he got her to admit her feelings about him a personal victory.

"I'm married to you. What choice do I have?" she said rolling her eyes.

Getting up from his chair, he stepped around her chair and put his arms around Katherine. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's every said to me", he said as he began to kiss her down her neck.

"Keep that up and I'll probably say sweeter things", she said seductively as she angled her head up. Damon leaned forward and was about to kiss her when he heard Sydney crying through the baby monitor. "I guess you'll have to wait a little longer to hear them", said Katherine winking at him as he stepped away and she made her way up the stairs to take care of her daughter.

Damon was brought out of his thoughts and back to the present by Sydney shaking his arm, trying to get his attention. Sydney shot him a curious look. "I'm sorry, baby", he said. "I wasn't listening. What did you say?"

"I asked when are we going to the park?" she said slowly as if he wouldn't understand otherwise.

"Once Elisa is here", he answered her. "We'll ask her to pack us our lunch so we have a little picnic too." As if on cue, they heard the doorbell ring. "I guess she's here", said Damon and left the table to open the door for Elisa.

Elisa greeted Damon and Sydney and then Damon filled her in on his plan for the afternoon. Elisa soon got to work making them a packed lunch. Sydney, having finished her breakfast, had gone up to her room leaving Damon and Elisa alone in the kitchen. "What inspired the picnic?" she asked him as he finished the last of his cereal.

"Nothing in particular", answered Damon. "I've just really loved hanging out with Sydney and I thought a picnic would be a nice little change."

"You're tired of her tea parties, aren't you?" asked Elisa with a laugh.

"Is it that obvious?" Damon asked sheepishly.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Sydney doesn't have a clue." She smiled at him. "Do you have a basket to put all the food in?"

"I'll get it", he said. In a matter of minutes, he was back down with a relatively large picnic basket. "I think this might be a little too big for the two of us", he said as he walked into the kitchen. His eyes immediately landed on the amount of food Elisa had made them and amended, "or not."

"Physical activity makes people hungry which is why you need to have a lot of food", Elisa said by way of explanation.

"I doubt if either of us will be that tired", he said. "Oh and you can take the rest of the day off. Caroline's invited us for dinner."

Elisa nodded in acknowledgement. "How are things going with you and Elena?" she asked out of the blue.

The question caught Damon off guard and his brain went into over drive for a minute. "Things are going well", he said slowly giving her a questioning look. "She's a really good friend."

"How much does she know?" asked Elisa as she placed all the food neatly into the basket.

"More than a lot of people, that's for sure", answered Damon.

Elisa nodded again. "I got to talk to her for a little bit", she said. "She seems like a very nice girl. She would be good for you."

"What's that supposed to mean? Where are you going with this?" he asked with a hint of accusation in his voice.

"I'm just saying that she's a very level headed person and given the circumstances you're in, I think she would be a good influence on you", she said eyeing him curiously. She regarded him a minute longer and then said, "You like her, don't you?"

"Of course I like her", answered Damon with a huff. "I just told you, she's a really good friend and you're right. I could use someone like her in my life right now."

Elisa just smiled at him as she closed the basket. "You're all set", she said.

"Thank you so much, Elisa", said Damon. He then made his way up get Sydney and then together they left for their picnic together.

-xx-

Klaus Mikaelson paced the hall of his brother's house. He fumed at his brother wondering how someone who was so insistent on punctuality could be so late. It must be Katherine, he told himself. When Klaus had first found out that the woman whom Elijah was dating was none other than Katherine Pierce, he had been supportive. He knew every detail about her relationship with Damon but he had hoped for his brother's sake that what had happened with Damon was a result of her being unhappy in the relationship. But as time wore on and he heard Elijah talk about their time together, he began suspecting that the person she had cheated on Damon with was in fact his brother. Wanting to settle things once and for all, he had called Damon who confirmed the story. He had been so angry that night and he was on the verge of telling Elijah everything but Katherine had stopped him and convinced him to keep quiet. She asked him to look at how happy his brother was and he had. He had decided to keep his big mouth shut. He had even gone as far as asking Damon to do the same when he moved to Mystic Falls. But things had changed since then. Now, Elijah and Katherine were engaged and his brother was crazy enough to take such a huge step when he still had no idea about her past. Now, Klaus was angry at Katherine for taking advantage of his brother's trusting nature and he was angry at himself for listening to Katherine and kept quiet. He had spent a major portion of his time thinking about everything since Elijah had announced their engagement and he had finally made up his mind. His brother had to know and he had to know soon. He had never wanted to keep this a secret from his brother but at the time he had thought that it was the right thing to do but he knew better now. It was time to right the wrong, Klaus thought.

"Klaus", he heard someone call out to him. How could a voice so sweet belong to a person so venomous he wondered as he turned around. "I wasn't expecting you here", said Katherine sounding perfectly calm but he could see the storm raging in her eyes.

"I'm here to talk to my brother", he answered.

"About?" she prompted.

"What do you think?" he asked her. "Elijah deserves better than this. He needs to know the truth."

"Klaus, we talked about this." Katherine sighed. "I thought you understood."

"I'm sorry Katherine but I'm afraid I don't. In fact, I don't think I ever did."

Katherine took a deep breath. "Klaus, please believe me when I say that I don't want to hurt Elijah."

"Then tell him the truth", he said simply. "You better tell him before tomorrow or I will." With that Klaus stormed out of the house and Katherine felt herself being tugged to the past by a memory.

She was lying in bed next to Damon who was fast asleep. She smiled at how peaceful he looked in that moment. She knew she had to tell him the truth soon but she wasn't sure she could do that. He was happy. He thought the life he had built for himself with her and their 18 month old daughter was perfect. And it could still be, she thought, if I just keep my feelings to myself. The truth was she wasn't really happy. Damon loved her with all his heart but she wasn't sure she even felt half of that for him. She wanted to tell him the truth. She knew it would break his heart and she couldn't do that to him and she definitely couldn't put Sydney through it either. She felt tears prickle her eyes and she buried her face in the pillow hoping to fall asleep.

When she woke up it was morning and she was alone in bed. She slowly got up and made her way to Sydney's bedroom. She pushed the door open without making a sound and peaked in. Instead of feeling happy, she felt guilty when she saw Damon sitting on a rocking chair with Sydney in his arms. Sydney had probably started crying and he must have come to her room to put to her back to sleep. She couldn't watch any longer and so she pulled the door shut and got ready for work.

A couple of hours later, she was sitting at her desk and she couldn't stop thinking about how her life had gotten to where it was now. When she heard her name being called, she was startled and she pushed her handbag to the floor by mistake. She quickly grabbed everything that had spilled on the floor and put them back into her bag. She hesitated when she saw a simple white card. It had the name Elijah Mikaelson on it with his number. She remembered the stranger at the coffee shop giving it to her. They had really hit it off last morning but when he gave her his card, she realised what his intentions were but instead of throwing it away, she had tucked it into her bag. In a moment of weakness, she pulled out her phone and called the number. Elijah answered on the second ring and he was genuinely happy to hear from her. Before she knew it, she had made plans to meet him at a restaurant that night and hung up. She contemplated calling him back and apologizing to him and cancelling the date. But she remembered how nice it had been to talk to him and she decided against it. She wanted to think of herself just this once.

At 7 pm, she found herself at The Bay with Elijah, having a great time. One thing led to another and she was soon at Elijah's home and in his room. After an incredible night, she woke up at 2 am and the whole night came rushing back to her. She felt sick for what she had done and so, she did the most sensible thing she could think of. She slipped on her clothes and left the house, leaving Elijah a note, apologizing for leaving before he woke up. Once she was outside the house, she checked her phone and saw a number of missed calls and very concerned messages from Damon that only made her feel worse. By the time she got home at 3 am, she was exhausted and depressed. She was surprised to see the light still on in the living room and found Damon sleeping on the couch with his phone in his hand. She went to him and shook him awake. "Why didn't you go to bed?" she asked him.

"I was waiting for you. I thought somebody had kidnapped you or something", he said groggily although the relief was apparent in his eyes. "What happened to you?"

"I was at the office and I lost track of time", she said vaguely.

"You know you don't have to work so hard right?"

"I know", she said and pulled him up by his arm. "Why don't we get to bed now? It's Saturday tomorrow. We can sleep in."

Damon nodded and followed her up the stairs to their bedroom. By the time she had showered and changed, Damon was already asleep and she was glad that she wouldn't have to deal with him for at least the rest of the night. Grateful for that, she lay down and was asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

The next morning, she woke up to the smell of fresh coffee. She opened her eyes to see Damon carrying a tray of food. When she shifted to sitting position, he placed the tray on the bed in front of her. "What's all this about?" she asked, surprised.

"Breakfast in bed", he said with a huge smile. "I know you had a long day today and so I thought you could use a little pampering today." He looked critically at the tray. "The coffee is good I promise but since I can't really cook, you're going to have to make do with crackers and cereal. I know the two don't go together but these are the only things I know that I wouldn't be able to render inedible."

Katherine felt herself tear up again and it didn't go unnoticed by Damon. "Hey, what happened?" he asked her. He shifted around the bed so he was next to her and pulled her into a hug.

Katherine wiped away the tears and said, "Nothing's wrong. I'm just really happy." She could feel Damon place a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm glad", he said. "Now eat up and I'm going to give Sydney a bath and then when Elisa gets here, you and I are going on a little trip", he said winking at her. Without waiting for a response, Damon disappeared from their room and Katherine was left alone with her thoughts once more. She knew she had to tell Damon what had happened last night but she just couldn't do it. She knew the longer she dragged it on, the worse it was going to be for the both of them but she was just too scared to tell him the truth.

I have to tell him the truth, thought Katherine again. But this time she wasn't thinking of Damon. She was thinking of Elijah.

-xx-

Sydney could barely contain her excitement when they got to the park. She spent most of the morning running around aimlessly and Damon had made sure that she never left his sight. He was beyond relieved when Sydney saw other children playing in a sandbox and she just wanted to join them. He stood a few feet away from her watching as Sydney mingled with the other kids there and was soon smiling and laughing with the others. He soon realised the boy Sydney was talking to was actually Mike. He scanned the parents standing near the sandbox and soon found Alaric and Jenna. He walked up to them and pat Ric on his back. "I had the feeling you two were the kind of parents who would sleep in not the ones who hang out at the park this early in the morning?" he said.

"You must have us confused for someone else", said Ric. "And besides, it's 11 am. It's not early in the morning anymore."

"I've never seen you and Sydney around here before", said Jenna.

"That's because we've never been here before", he said. "Sydney and I spend most of our time home or with Caroline and Stefan."

"And I thought we were the boring parents", said Ric with a laugh.

"No, I'm sure you are", replied Damon with a grin.

"So what prompted the expedition?" asked Jenna.

"I just thought we could use a change. Besides, I've had way too many tea parties to last me a life time!" he answered.

"I do not envy you", said Ric.

"Well, I do", put in Jenna.

"Women", mouthed Ric to Damon behind Jenna's back and as hard as he tried he couldn't hold in his laughter.

Jenna turned around to face both the men. Folding her hands over her chest, she gave them a stern look and asked them, "What are you to laughing about?"

"Nothing", the said at the same time with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

"You two are getting along too well", said Jenna shaking her head.

"Guys are allowed to have friends too, you know", defended Damon. Jenna just rolled her eyes and turned back to the children. "What plans do you to have for the rest of the day?" asked Damon.

"We're going to the Grill for lunch after this and then I'll be grading papers while these two catch up on their beauty sleep", said Ric and Jenna elbowed him in response. Ric grabbed his stomach pretending to be hurt. "See what I have to put up with on a daily basis", he said.

Damon couldn't help but envy the relationship they both seemed to share. They were happy and seeing that just made him smile. "Why don't you guys join us for lunch?" asked Damon.

"We couldn't do that", said Jenna. "We don't really want to ruin your time with Sydney."

"You won't be ruining it. If anything, Sydney is just going to be even more excited if that's even possible", he said. "Besides, Elisa has packed so much for us, there's no way we're going to be able to finish it all on our own." Jenna and Ric still looked a little reluctant. "Come on, guys, it'll be fun!"

Jenna looked up at Ric and he nodded. "Sure Damon, we would love to", she said with a smile. The next thing they knew, Mike and Sydney were running back to them.

"Are you two hungry?" Damon asked kneeling down. Sydney immediately nodded her head. "Mike and Jenna and Alaric are going to be joining us for lunch. How does that sound?" Sydney and Mike exchanged looks and grinned back at him. "Alright", he said getting back up. "Why don't you guys find a place a nice place to sit while I head back to my car and get the food?" They agreed and then split up. Damon made his way to his car and as he did, he checked his phone. There was a message from Caroline reminding of their dinner plans but other than that, there was nothing. That's a first, he thought to himself. He took the basket out of his car and then called Ric and found out where they were. When he got there, he saw the four of them were seated on the lawn and Damon placed the basket next to them. Opening it, he took out a sheet and spreading it on the lawn, he started laying the food out on it. They all settled in, grateful for the meal. Damon watched the four as they talked and ate cheerfully. It reminded him of the picnics he had as a child. The last time they had gone out was when he was 14. He shook himself and focused on the present.

Sydney sat leaning against him as she munched on a sandwich. He nudged her gently and asked, "So do you like the picnic so far?"

Sydney nodded. "Just like in the movies", she answered twisting around to face him.

"What movie? I haven't seen a picnic in any kids movies", said Jenna.

"I have no idea", answered Damon. "But if she says she saw it in a movie, then she saw it in a movie."

"That's how I deal with Jenna too", said Ric with a nervous laugh.

Jenna turned to glare at her husband. "Would you stop making it sound like I'm such a nightmare", she said.

"I'm just teasing you", said Ric smiling at her. "You know you're the most amazing person I've ever met in my life right?"

"I know. I could say the same about you", said Jenna.

Damon cleared his throat loudly. "There are two children under the age of 5 here and one adult who does not want to play witness to your…whatever you're doing", he said waving his hands around. "Do you think you can keep it PG rated until you get home?"

Jenna visibly blushed. "I'm sorry", she said sheepishly.

Damon just laughed at her obvious embarrassment. "Don't be", he said kindly. "I've seen a lot worse thanks to Caroline and Stefan. It's amazing they remember to behave when Sydney's around."

"They do make an amazing couple", commented Jenna.

"They deserve all the happiness, trust me", added Damon seriously. "How's kindergarten treating Mike?" he asked changing the subject.

"The school's pretty good. They keep track of each of the students and they keep us in the loop too. Ric here isn't too fond of it though", Jenna replied.

"That's putting it lightly", said Ric. "I absolutely hate that school. They put way too much pressure on the kids. The teachers' focus is on making the students excel at everything they do which is great. But in my opinion, a three year old needs to start learning in an environment where there are no expectations. Competition can wait until they're older."

"What about Sydney? Have you put her in a school yet?" asked Jenna.

"I haven't. Elisa has agreed to home school her. I think I'll put her into a regular school when she's older. I'm not sure whether I'll do it when she starts the first grade or if I would wait a little longer", answered Damon.

"That's a good option", said Ric. "Sydney clearly has no issues with other kids her age so I wouldn't worry about her."

From then on, they talked about one thing and then the other. Finally the food was all gone and they were all tired. Damon looked at the time and saw that it was already 2 pm. Ric did the same and then said, "I hate to dine and dash but I think we should get home. I really do have papers to grade."

"I need to get Sydney down for a nap too", said Damon. "I'll call you sometime later. Maybe we can hang out sometime."

"Without the kids I hope", said Ric with a laugh. "I could use a drinking buddy."

"Consider it done", said Damon and the two men shook hands.

"Ah, the bromance", sighed Jenna teasing the two.

The two families parted ways at the parking lot. Damon helped Sydney into her seat and he sat down behind the wheel. He started the car and once they were on the road, he asked Sydney, "Did you like hanging out with Mike."

"Yeah", she drew out slowly and he looked up at the rear view mirror to see if he could get any clues as to what she was thinking off her expression. "I like Elena better though", she said at last.

Damon smiled. "Why is that?"

"Because Mike's a boy", she said wrinkling her nose.

Damon caught her reaction on the rear view mirror. He laughed and wondered if he should take offence at that. "I'm a boy too", he informed her.

"But you're you, Daddy", answered Sydney as if that explained everything. He figured to her it did. He was about to ask her about the park when he noticed that she had drifted off. A smile played on his lips as he thought of how well the day had gone. He knew the evening would go smoothly as well. Dinner with Caroline and Stefan was almost always a very good way to end the day although it did leave Sydney buzzing with too much energy that she missed her bed time. But it was worth it, he told himself. It was all worth it to see his daughter smiling and happy.


	10. Hate

_AN: So I know I'm a day late but I come bearing a new chapter. I hope you don't totally hate it. I've loved reading your reviews and thank you so much for your follows and favourites. They really do mean a lot to me._

Damon and Sydney were at The Bay long before Caroline and Stefan and that was nothing short of a miracle. Caroline had sent him a text saying that they were running late as she had to pick up her mother as well. Family dinner was now taking on a whole new meaning and he began wondering what Caroline had planned. Something was definitely up. He just hoped it was something good.

Sydney sat next to him playing with a hand held device as he sipped his drink. Damon had to admit that he liked The Bay. It was calm, quiet and all in all a great place to grab dinner at. The only reason he preferred the louder and more chaotic environment of the Grill was because of the fact that they served alcohol while The Bay was yet to get its permit. He didn't mean to sound like an alcoholic but tonight was one of those nights when he desperately needed a drink or ten to get through it. Minutes after Sydney and Damon had been shown to their table, the door to The Bay had been flung open as Katherine and Elijah entered arm in arm. They had taken a seat on the far side of the restaurant and for that he was grateful. When the couple had first entered, he had checked to see if Sydney had noticed but the girl had already been engrossed in her game. He had let out a breath that he hadn't realised he had been holding. As the two walked to their table, he had managed to make eye contact with Katherine for a few short seconds and she had glared at him. He had completely forgotten to let her know that they would be at The Bay. He mentally kicked himself and prepared himself for what he knew was going to be a nerve wracking few hours.

When Caroline and Stefan finally arrived with Liz following close behind them, Sydney abandoned her game and gave them a warm welcome. They were all seated and dinner proceeded as smoothly as it could. Damon's obvious discomfort didn't escape Stefan. He nudged his brother and asked him, "What's got you wound up so tight?"

"Katherine's here", he said under his breath. "She's here with Elijah."

"Does Sydney know?"

"She was too busy playing to notice", answered Damon and when he looked up, he saw Caroline giving him a pointed look. Damon just shook his head and carried on with his dinner. By the time dessert was served, Damon's curiosity got the better of him and he said, "This family dinner is oddly suspicious. Why do I have the feeling that you two have some kind of ulterior motive?"

"That's because they always do, Damon", answered Liz. She then turned back to the couple and said, "Spit it out you two."

Caroline was visibly glowing but just as she was about to answer, she was interrupted by Sydney as she squealed, "Mommy!" All eyes were immediately on her. "She's right there", explained the little girl as she pointed to Katherine who was standing close to Elijah. Clearly the two were about to leave. Katherine stood locked in her place for a second as she looked between Damon who gave her an apologetic look and Sydney unaware of what to say. She placed her arm on Elijah's shoulder and indicated that they should be leaving. Elijah nodded and led her out of the restaurant.

"Help me out, Daddy", continued Sydney. "I want to go to Mommy."

"Mommy's busy", said Caroline trying to come up with an explanation.

"We already went over this Sydney", said Damon in a tired voice. "I told you that she's not coming back."

"But she was right there", repeated the three year old. It completely escaped her as to why she couldn't talk to someone who was physically in the same room with her. "I want to talk to Mommy", she said adamantly.

"Sydney, I said no", said Damon a little harsher than he intended. Sydney quietened immediately but her lips quivered indicating she was about to cry. Damon immediately leaned closer to her and said, "I didn't mean that, baby. I just don't think it's a good idea." He put his arm on her shoulder trying to placate her but it didn't seem to help as tears fell from her eyes. Damon took a deep breath and pushed his chair away and got to his feet.

"Where are you going?" asked Caroline, rising to her feet.

"I'm going to try talking to Katherine again. I want to see if I can melt her heart of ice at least for a couple of minutes", he said and stalked off.

Stefan indicated for Caroline to stay with the others as he followed behind Damon. Caroline pulled Sydney out of her chair and sat her on her lap. "Your dad's trying really hard, okay?" she told Sydney and she nodded in response.

Damon caught up to Katherine and Elijah just as they were about to get into their car. Damon ran up to them and said, "Can I please talk to Katherine alone for a minute. I promise I'll be quick."

Elijah answered, "I don't know what's going on here. But I'm pretty sure my fiancé wants nothing to do with it. I hope you can respect that."

"I don't know how much you know of everything and if what I heard from Klaus is any indication, you don't know anything. The whole thing is just one huge complicated mess and for the sake of my daughter I would really like to get things sorted out as soon as I can. I hope you can respect that", said Damon.

Stefan stepped up from behind him and addressed Elijah, "My brother can be completely irrational at times but I can promise you that this isn't one of those times. This has gone on for far too long. It will only take a minute."

Elijah looked at Katherine uncertainly. Katherine nodded at him and said, "I'll be right back and I promise I'll explain everything to you. I promise." Elijah nodded and got into the car. The trio stepped to the edge of the well-lit parking lot and Katherine immediately asked, "What was that about Damon? You told me that you'd let me know if Sydney was somewhere we might cross paths!"

Damon felt like a school boy who had forgotten to do his homework. "I forgot. Caroline called his morning and I had already slept in and she'd been so good lately and so I wanted to make this day perfect for her. It just slipped my mind", he answered.

"I can't believe you're apologizing to her", Stefan said as he rolled his eyes. He then turned to Katherine and said to her, "Whatever happened happened. Now Sydney's upset because she can't talk to you. So can you just go in and be her mother for just a couple of minutes and explain to her why she can't see you again. She's just a child, she's your child. She hasn't done anything to deserve this. Do the right thing for once, Katherine."

Katherine's resolve wavered. "I can't", she said, biting her lip. "I need to come clean to Elijah tonight or Klaus is going to do it. I need to keep a clear head and I can't deal with her now."

"Katherine, you haven't been dealing with her for a year now. Please, just come in for a quick minute and tell her that you need to go away again and that you love her. That's it", said Damon pleading with her.

She looked at Damon's desperate face and then back to the car where Elijah sat with the engine on. "I'm sorry, Damon", she said and turned away and walked back to her car.

Damon felt like he had been slapped. He stood rooted to the spot staring at Katherine's retreating figure. His vision blurred as he leaned against the wall behind him taking in deep breaths. He remembered the last time he had heard those words like it had all happened just the day before.

Damon was sitting on the rocking chair in Sydney's room after putting her to bed. He had just gotten home that morning after his book tour and he had really missed his girls while he had been away. The lamp on the table in the corner of the room was still on. She looked like a little angel as she slept but he knew that his daughter wasn't as innocent as she looked. She was as smart as her mother and as capable of getting into trouble. He smiled to himself as he thought of the amount of trouble she would probably get into in her teens. He loved quite moments like this.

He heard the door open downstairs and he knew immediately that Katherine was back home from work. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 11 pm – another late night. He didn't want to pick a fight with her tonight. He had just gotten back and all he wanted to do was hug her and pretend like everything was just fine, exactly as he had been doing for months. He knew that her one night stand had lasted much longer than one night but every time he brought it up, Katherine just shut him down. He didn't want to live a lie anymore. He wanted answers. For a brief moment he wondered if he really wanted to know. He felt conflicted. After a long minute he decided that he didn't have it in him to fight tonight and with that in mind he went to his room and found Katherine already there with her back to him. He walked up to her and hugged her. "I missed you", he said.

Katherine's smile faltered. She pulled away from him and turned around. She took a good look at him and he saw her smile completely vanish. "We need to talk", he heard her say.

"I know", he answered. "But not tonight, please. I really just want one night of peace and quiet; one night when we're not fighting."

"Damon, I can't do this anymore", said Katherine.

"What's going on?" he asked giving in to her wishes just like he always did.

"I owe you an explanation", she said. Katherine took his hand and led him to their bed. He sat down at the edge of the bed as she remained standing. "How much do you know?" she asked him.

Damon tugged at her hand trying to get her to sit down next to him but she resisted. He blew out a breath and said, "I know that something's wrong. I know that it has to do with why you come home late a lot these days." He looked up to see Katherine nodding. "Katherine, I really don't want things to be strained between the two of us but I really don't have the strength to play your games tonight. Just tell me what's going and put me out of my misery because it sure as hell isn't going to be as bad as any of the scenarios that seem to be popping up in my head."

"And what scenario keeps popping into your head?" she asked.

Damon looked at her to check for any signs of playfulness but he could see that she was being serious. "I know this is going to sound ridiculous but I've had this nagging feeling that you're still cheating on me. I know you said that it was only that once but every time you're late I just get so paranoid. I guess I'm just afraid of losing you." Damon looked at the expression of shock on her face and it hit him. "I'm right, aren't I?" he asked slowly. Katherine didn't say a word but that was all the confirmation he needed. There were a million questions running through his brain but all he could manage to get out was, "Why?" He felt tears pooling in his eyes as the news sunk in.

Katherine finally sat beside him, making sure not to touch him. "Damon", she called but he seemed to be lost in his own world. She took his face in her hands and made him face her. "Damon", she called again.

This time he did respond but not in the way she expected. "I don't want to know why", he said finally. "I really don't. We can still work things out. We could go see a counsellor or something." He knew he sounded desperate but he didn't care.

"We've been trying to work things out for over 5 months now. The whole time I've been lying to you because I didn't want to hurt you. But I'm done, Damon. I can't do this anymore. I think we're better off apart", she said it all in a rush.

Damon sat unmoving as his brain churned. He felt scared, lost and alone all at the same time. He tried to say something but he just couldn't think of the right words to say. He felt Katherine lean in and place a kiss on his forehead as she said, "It's for the best, Damon." He sat for a few more minutes as he mulled over his thoughts. His eyes followed Katherine around the room as she took out a suitcase and began packing her things. She was saying something about staying with the guy whom she was now sleeping with. A part of him wanted to say something, anything to try and get her to stay. But the other part was too hurt for coherent thoughts. He finally broke out of the trance when Katherine opened the door to their room and stepped out into the hallway with her suitcase. Damon immediately sprang into action and he followed her to the living area. "Katherine, wait", he called out to her and she turned to face him. She looked upset and vulnerable and he almost refrained from saying anything. He pressed on saying, "If not for me, think about Sydney. You can't do this to her", he said trying to reason with her. "I'm not mad at you. I can never be mad at you. I promise I won't hold anything that you did against you. We can make this work."

Katherine looked between her husband and the door and she shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry", she said and walked out the door. Damon sat down on the couch wondering how he had gotten to where they were now. He just sat thinking and that's exactly how Stefan found him the next day.

Stefan shook Damon out of his reverie and brought him back to the present. His back was pressed up against the wall and he heard his brother ask him, "Are you alright? Breathe, Damon."

"What am I going to tell Sydney now?" he asked.

"The truth. I'm sure she'll understand", answered Stefan.

"She always understands", said Damon. "I don't want her to have to understand. She's a kid, for God's sakes. I want her to be happy and protected and taken care of. This just isn't fair."

"I know", said Stefan trying to calm him down. "But life isn't fair and unfortunately Sydney has had to deal with it from a very young age. But if you want her to get this, you've got to pull yourself together. You're not going to help her by pining after Katherine and trying to protect her."

"I'm done with her", said Damon his tone bitter. "I hate her, Stefan." His chest heaved with rage.

Stefan nodded his head. He just hoped that Damon's new found hatred wouldn't eat them both alive. He knew Damon could hold a grudge. He had managed to hold one against his father until his death. When he was sure that Damon was calm enough, he led him back to the restaurant. When the two took their seats the others looked at them expectantly. Stefan caught the look in Damon's eyes and spoke up for him, "She wouldn't come and talk to her. We asked her to explain it all to Sydney just once but she wouldn't listen."

Caroline pulled Sydney, who was still on her lap, closer to her. "I'm so sorry", she whispered to her. Sydney didn't respond but her eyes were trained on her father who for his part now sat at the table with his head in his hands. She reached out across the table and pulled at one of his sleeves. That caught Damon's attention and he looked up. He picked her up from Caroline's arms and said to her, "It's going to be okay. We'll be okay."

"How about we call it a night?" asked Liz interrupting the calm that had settled over the table.

"Yeah, we should do that", answered Caroline and signalled for the waiter to bring them their check. Together they all walked to the parking lot. Sydney was still clinging to Damon when they reach their car. Damon opened the back door and strapped her into her seat. He then turned around to say his goodbyes to his brother.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Stefan.

"I'll be fine, Stefan. I'll call you when I get back home", answered Damon.

"I know it isn't my place to say this", said Liz interrupting them. "But I really don't think you should be driving when you're upset."

"Mom's right", agreed Caroline. "Stefan can drive the two of you and I'll drop mom off and come pick you up."

"That's fine by me", said Stefan and he looked to Damon for confirmation. Damon grunted his agreement and got into the passenger seat. Stefan watched as Caroline and Liz got into their car and drove off. When he got behind the wheel of Damon's car, he noticed Sydney was asleep in her seat and Damon sat resting his head against the window. The drive to Damon's house was quiet. Once they were home, Damon tucked Sydney into her own bed and then came back down to the living area. He grabbed a couple of glasses and poured some bourbon into them. He handed one of the glasses to Stefan and set the bottle down between them. He tipped his glass to Stefan and then drank the amber liquid in one long draught and then poured himself a second glass. He reminded himself that he wasn't an alcoholic and slowed down. The brothers sat in silence, both lost in thought for about an hour until Caroline arrived. When she did, Damon offered her the bottle.

"No thanks", she answered. "I have to drive."

"I'll come see you in the morning ", said Stefan as he got up. "You should try and get some sleep now."

"Did you guys have an ulterior motive for inviting us to dinner tonight?" Damon asked them.

Stefan and Caroline exchanged looks and finally Caroline spoke up, "We had news to share but it can wait."

"Is it good news?" he asked again.

"It is", confirmed Stefan.

"Then I want to hear it", said Damon looking at them expectantly.

"It's nothing", said Caroline trying to downplay it. Damon shot her a stern glance. "Okay", she said as she caved. "We invited you guys to dinner to tell you that I'm pregnant. I've known for a while now but I didn't want to tell anyone too early. But it's been almost two months now and I wanted you, Sydney and my mom to be the first ones to know about it."

Damon smiled at them. "That's such great news", he said getting on his feet. He moved forward and hugged them both. "I'm so happy for you two right now. I'm sorry I ruined dinner. I know you probably wanted it to be perfect", he said turning to Caroline.

"It's alright", said Caroline. "What happened wasn't your fault."

"I know but I –"

Stefan interrupted him saying, "But nothing. You've had a long night. I think it's time you get to bed and get some rest. You look exhausted. We'll let ourselves out."

Damon nodded and put the glasses away. He started ascending the stairs as Stefan and Caroline watched him closely. When he was halfway up the stairs, he turned around and looked to be thinking. "What's wrong?" asked Caroline.

"I know this might be too much but can I ask you a favour?" he asked nervously.

"Sure, you know we'd do whatever we can to help you", Stefan answered.

Damon hesitated again and then decided against saying anything. "Forget I said anything. I'm just a little unfocused right now."

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" asked Caroline again.

"Yeah, I'm sure", answered Damon and made his way up the stairs again.

"I hate seeing him like this", said Caroline. "I know I used to complain about it a lot but I prefer the cocky and annoying Damon to this", she said pointing up the stairs.

"I know", said Stefan in reply. "I just hope things go better for him from here on out." He sighed and said, "Let's go home. Hopefully we'll all get some sleep tonight and we can worry about everything else tomorrow."

-xx-

Elijah paced the bedroom as Katherine sat on their bed watching him. He stopped for a minute and was about to say something but then he stopped and continued pacing again. She didn't say a word. She had just told him the whole story and now she was just going to let him respond to it. After what felt like forever, Elijah asked her, "Klaus knew?"

"He did. I made him promise me that he wouldn't tell you until I found a way to tell you myself. Don't be mad at him", answered Katherine.

Elijah just nodded and continued pacing. "So the girl who called you mommy is actually yours and Damon's daughter."

"She is", said Katherine. "Her name is Sydney."

"How old is she?" he asked.

"She's three now", Katherine answered. She was expecting Elijah to be furious but so far he only seemed curious. She knew that that was only because the news probably hadn't sunk in. The inevitable anger would probably come later.

"So she must have been about a year old when we first met", he figured. "Why didn't you tell me about them? Why did you leave out the part where you had a daughter?"

"I was unhappy with the way things were going between me and Damon and I needed a break. I thought that night was going to be a one night thing but it wasn't. As time wore on, I started loving you more than I loved him. I was worried that if I told you the truth, you would hate me for it. But I know I can't lie anymore. I needed you to know the truth."

"You're right. Had you told me when we first started dating over a year ago, I would have told you to go back to your daughter and forget all about me." Elijah sighed and sat down next to his fiancé. "But I could never hate you, Katherine. I love you and I'm not sure I can do that anymore. We can make this work." Katherine's mind flashed back to the night she had left Damon. Hadn't he said the exact words to her that night? Elijah took her hand in his and rubbed it comforting her. "How is your relationship with your daughter?"

"Non-existent. I tried to keep seeing her without you finding out but it just got harder and I decided to stay out of her life for good." Katherine rested her head on his shoulder. "It's for the best."

"Are you sure? You really don't want any part in her life?" he asked again.

"I want to be in her life. But I'm probably just going to make things worse for her and Damon. We do have joint custody", Katherine replied.

"We could work something out with them. Maybe she could stay with us on weekends. I'm sure Damon has her enrolled in some school so it would be best for her to stay with him during the week. We'll be married soon and a good family setting could do wonders for her", said Elijah pensively.

"Are you sure you're okay with that?" asked Katherine.

"I am", answered Elijah. "The girl did nothing wrong. She doesn't deserve to grow up not knowing her own mother."

"Thank you so much, Elijah", said Katherine, her voice trembling with emotion. "This really does mean a lot to me."

"One last thing, Katherine", said Elijah seriously. "Promise me that you'll never lie to me again."

"I promise", replied Katherine nodding her agreement.

Katherine couldn't believe her luck. She had been expecting anger or grief or disappointment but acceptance was what she had gotten instead. She wondered what she had done to deserve this. Maybe there was some good still left in the world. As she lay in bed that night, she remembered the look on Damon's face as she had walked away that night. She really hoped that he would be able to find some happiness too. He deserved it. She knew what he had been through. Life had handed him lemons in more occasions than one and had even used her as an instrument in the last year and a half. She wondered what Damon would think about her wanting to be in Sydney's life. He had always been asking her to see their daughter and so she hoped he wouldn't mind. She hoped that somehow everything would be alright.

_PS: jairem, are you a mind reader? ;)_


	11. Announcements

_AN: So here's the next chapter. It's a little rushed but I hope you like it. This story also crossed 50 followers which in my book is a huge accomplishment. Thank you so much for that. And to all my anonymous reviewers and any reviews I might have forgotten to reply to: Thank you so much for leaving me your comments. I really love reading them. Believe me when I say that reading your reviews makes me want to not screw this thing up. I should probably stop talking now and let you read :P So please read and let me know what you think!_

The next morning Damon did his best to make sure that Sydney stuck to her routine. She had woken up bright and early as always and joined him for breakfast. She hadn't spoken much and had mostly kept to herself. After a lot of prodding he had gotten two sentences out of her. He figured she was still upset about the events of the previous night and he didn't blame her. He was still pretty upset too. After being unable to share the news of her pregnancy the way she had wanted to, Caroline was making a second attempt at it that night at the Grill. This time she had invited her friends as well. Sydney still had no idea and as per Caroline's request he was going to keep it that way until she got to tell her herself. When he had mentioned the impending trip, Sydney hadn't reacted with her usual enthusiasm and that worried him a lot.

Damon looked at the clock in his room and saw that it was 11 am. Sydney was up in her room with Elisa. He briefly contemplated telling Caroline about his decision to take a permanent break from writing but then decided against it. His sister in law was hoping for a perfect day today and he did not want to ruin it. He reviewed the milling ledger and read over the papers that had been sent over to him. He was engrossed in his work when his phone buzzed breaking his concentration. He looked at the screen and seeing, Katherine's name on it, didn't bother answering it. He had no idea what the woman wanted from him and he was not in the mood for finding out.

Lunch was as quiet as breakfast but he didn't think much about it. He went up to Sydney's room just like he always did and found her staring off into the distance. He stretched out on her bed with his back against the headrest and pulled her on to his lap. "What's wrong?" he asked her already knowing the answer.

"I wanted to talk to mommy", she answered immediately.

"I know you do but your mother wasn't able to last night. We've been over it already", said Damon patiently.

"Why couldn't she?" she asked.

"Because she was busy with someone else", answered Damon.

"I don't like that", she said.

"Neither do I kiddo", replied Damon. He took a deep breath wishing things had been different. He wished he could change the past but he couldn't and that just made him angry and sad all at the same time. "You should get some sleep now", he told her. "You don't want to be sleepy when we meet Aunt Caroline at the Grill." Sydney slipped off his lap and lay on her side on her bed. Damon leaned in and kissed her forehead. He got up and pulled the curtains so the light didn't filter into her room. He took one last look at her before he left the room.

Once downstairs, he groaned and sat down at the kitchen counter. "It's as if you're asking me to ask you what's wrong", said Elisa.

"Well, this time I wouldn't mind", he answered. When Elisa shot him a questioning look, he continued. "Katherine was at the same restaurant last night and Sydney wanted to talk to her. But she was with her fiancé and didn't want to even after I specifically asked her to."

"Sounds like Katherine", commented Elisa.

"I'm starting to see why you don't like her", he murmured.

"It's annoying when someone hurts someone you love, isn't it?" she asked with a wink.

"That's beside the point", said Damon brushing it aside. "The point is I don't know what to do. I don't want her anywhere near my daughter ever again."

"Somehow I don't think Katherine's going to have a problem with that", noted Elisa. "Sydney's just a child. Just give her some time. It took you almost a year to get your life back on track. It's going to be so much harder than that for her. She's been holding on to hope that one day she'll get to see and talk to Katherine again and now, I think she's just starting to let it go. Like father, like daughter I guess."

"So that's your solution? I should just let her be?" he asked incredulously. "I can't do that, Elisa. She's my daughter and I can't bear to watch her suffer."

"I'm not asking you to stand around passively. Be there for her and help her get through it", answered Elisa.

Damon put his elbows on the counter and his head in his hands. "I hate this", he said, his voice muffled.

"I know you do", said Elisa knowingly. "But this is the hand life has dealt you and you need to find a way to make the best of it."

Damon felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He checked the screen again and said, "It's the ice queen herself." He was about to step out of the kitchen to answer the call but then came back in and hugged Elisa with a soft "Thanks" before he left. He went into his study and answered the call with, "What?"

"I get that you're mad at me", said Katherine's voice from the other end.

"Mad doesn't cover it", he bit out.

"I spoke to Elijah and I cleared it all up. He knows everything now", she said.

"Good for you", said Damon interrupting her. "Is there anything you have to say that might interest me? If not I'd like to hang up right now."

"Could you just let me speak for a couple of minutes?" she asked and heard an answering sigh. "Elijah and I were talking and he suggested that maybe I should take the whole joint custody thing a little more seriously and I think he's right."

"What are you even trying to say?" asked Damon in an exasperated tone.

"What would you say to Sydney spending the weekends with us?" asked Katherine.

"No", he answered without missing a beat. "Anything else?"

"What?" she asked shocked. "I thought you would be happy. I thought you wanted me to spend more time with Sydney."

"You're right. I did. But then I got a good idea of the effect you have on her last night and I don't want her to go through that disappointment ever again. Just do us both a favour and stay away from her", said Damon and promptly hung up the phone. Damon felt frustrated. He had been telling her the truth. He didn't want her anywhere near his daughter but at the same time he worried that Sydney would hate him were she ever to find out that he had said so to Katherine. He was convinced that Katherine was a bad influence but at the same time he didn't want to deny Sydney the right to see her own mother. The thoughts played endlessly in his head until he felt a strong desire to destroy everything that he could get his hands on. He took a deep breath trying to regain some semblance of calmness. He gave up on getting back to work and instead trudged up the stairs. He lay on the bed letting his mind wander once more and before he knew it he was fast asleep.

Damon and Sydney reached the Grill to find Caroline and Stefan already there. He took a seat next to his brother and helped Sydney into her chair. He heard the door of the Grill open and looked up to see Katherine walking in. The noises of the restaurant faded away as he watched her walking towards their table. He saw Sydney twisting around in her chair to see what was going on. She seemed to be saying something but he couldn't hear her. All he could hear was his own heart pounding. When Katherine reached their table, Sydney held her arms out to her and she picked the little girl up.

"Sydney's going to be staying with us from now on. That's what's best for her. You know that", he heard her say. He watched paralysed as she walked out of the Grill with Sydney in her arms.

"It's not fair!" he screamed out and ran behind Katherine having regained his motor functions. He saw her standing in the parking lot next to her car as Sydney sat inside. "You can't take her away from me", he said to her.

"I didn't want to. I just wanted to spend some time with her at first but then I found out how things were for her at home. I can give her a better life than you ever will be, Damon. Let her go. She deserves to live in a happy home with two parents", answered Katherine, her tone sympathetic.

"But she's my daughter", said Damon. "I've done the best I could for her. I went off the deep end for a while there but everything I ever did after that was for her. I was a good father."

"You were. I can't disagree with anything that you've just said. You gave her a good home but Elijah and I can give her a better one. Goodbye, Damon", said Katherine. She got into her car and drove away as Damon watched in shock. The car made it out of the parking lot just as it was hit by oncoming traffic. The car flipped and landed upside down on the road. The scene felt way too familiar for Damon's comfort. His heart rate sped up. He ran to the car to see Sydney still in place thanks to her seatbelt. There was a huge gash on her forehead and Damon immediately sprang into action trying to pull the door open but he just couldn't. The paramedics pulled him out of the way and got her out of the car. They checked her pulse, then put an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose and got her into an ambulance. "Sydney", he called out to her, trying to get her to wake up. The girl didn't wake. He was starting to get desperate. "Sydney", he screamed out again and squeezed his eyes shut.

When he opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was a pair of huge eyes hovering over him, looking at him curiously. He then felt the soft sheets under him and remembered going to his bedroom and picking up a book to read. He must have fallen asleep he guessed. He let out a shaky breath and took a moment to make sure that the little girl sitting next to him was real. He pushed himself up and pulled her close to him.

"You were screaming", she told him.

"It was nothing", he said still holding her close. "I just had a nightmare."

"Aunt Caroline always sings to me to help me go back to sleep when I have nightmares", said Sydney.

"I don't think I have the time to go to sleep again", he said glancing at the clock which showed that it was already 5 pm. Had he really slept for that long? "You never told me what your nightmares were about."

"Monsters", answered Sydney simply.

"And what did these monsters do?" he asked her watching her closely.

"They always ate you and sometimes Aunt Caroline and Uncle Stefan too", she said.

"Do you still have those nightmares?" he asked her.

She shook her head no. "Not since our tea party", she answered.

Damon hoped that was a good sign. "How did you wake up before me anyway?" he asked switching topics. He knew Sydney must have woken up at least an hour earlier.

"Because only babies sleep that long", she said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I'm not a baby."

"Are you sure you're not a baby?" he asked her curiously.

She looked at him like he had gone crazy. "I'm a big girl", she said hoping her father could keep up.

Damon laughed. "Alright, my big girl what do you say we get out of this bed and do something fun?" he asked her.

"A tea party?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"Anything you want", answered Damon.

Excited, she jumped out of the bed and ran to her room. Damon shook his head and got out of his bed and followed her.

-xx-

Elena was a generally cheerful person but even she couldn't stand Mondays. Caroline had called her in the morning asking her to meet her at the Grill at 7 pm. Bonnie had also gotten a similar call and the two girls had spent about half an hour discussing Caroline's little get together. Bonnie was convinced that Caroline had some sort of ulterior motive while Elena was sure that Caroline didn't need a reason to ask to meet them. Their disagreement had led to a friendly wager and then the two had returned to their own desks. Despite her annoyance at the day of the week, she made significant progress. An hour later, she had taken a coffee break and run into Katherine. The woman smiled at her and said, "I've seen you before", she said. "You're the girl Damon spent most of his time with at the Lockwood party."

"And I know you too", said Elena feeling suddenly uncomfortable. "You're Damon's ex."

"I am", answered Katherine. "He looked really happy that night. I'm glad he found you", she said giving her a knowing look. "I know he's been wrecking his image in the media lately but he's really a great guy. I'm glad you gave him the chance to show you that."

"We're just friends", said Elena. She felt like she had just been stuck under a microscope for Katherine to scrutinize her.

"Oh", said Katherine, her smile faltering. "I'm so sorry. I just saw the way the two of you were looking at each other and I immediately thought you were together." She was flustered.

"It's alright", said Elena grabbing her cup and walking back to her table. "The way they were looking at each other?" she thought, rolling her eyes. Elena wondered how Katherine could be so clueless about the fact that Damon was still very much hung up on her. She brushed the thought aside and got back to work.

Sticking to her Monday schedule she headed to the Grill, eager to get on to the most exciting part of the day. Jenna was already at the table when she walked in. She slid into the booth and Jenna said, "I already ordered for you."

"What if you ordered something I didn't like?" she asked challenging her aunt.

"Maybe that's because you always order the same thing – burger and fries", said Jenna giving her a smug look.

"Well, I'm in the mood for spaghetti today", she announced and watched the smile drop right of Jenna's face. Elena burst out laughing. "I'm just joking. Burgers and fries it is. Always and forever."

"Thank you so much for giving me a heart attack", said Jenna. "So how was your weekend?"

"Same old, same old. Although I did get to hang out with Caroline and Sydney", she answered.

"We met her too at the park. Ric, Mike and I ended up having a little picnic with her and Damon. She got along really well with Mike and don't be too surprised if you see Ric and Damon hanging out sometime soon either. Sometimes I think he loves Damon more than he loves me", said Jenna rolling her eyes for good measure.

"Damon's a good person. He's just had some really crappy things happen to him", said Elena thinking back to her conversation with him on Saturday.

"You two have been getting awfully close lately", said Jenna stating a fact.

"Well, Sydney's a great kid and you know how well I get along with kids?" said Elena grinning at her aunt.

The food arrived and the two tucked in. "I didn't mean Sydney! I meant Damon", she said.

"Well, he just needed a friend", answered Elena effectively ending that conversation.

"Keep telling yourself that", said Jenna under her breath.

Elena glared at her and then asked, "How is the job hunt going?"

"It's been an effort in futility", answered Jenna sighing. "But I can't give up yet. I've only been looking for less than a week now."

"You really didn't find anything that was suitable for you?" asked Elena surprised.

"There were a few listed that I was qualified for but they either had hours I couldn't keep or made other equally outrageous demands", answered Jenna. She thought for a minute before she said, "Ric did tell me that there was an opening in the high school. The biology teacher quit after she got engaged and decided to move in with her fiancé."

"That sounds like a great opportunity", said Elena. "It sounds perfect actually."

"I could go to school with Ric everyday", said Jenna as she thought it over. "But you know how well I get along with high school kids, right? I could barely handle you and Jeremy."

"That was years ago", said Elena rolling her eyes at her aunt. "You're probably older and wiser now."

"Hey, I'm not old!" answered Jenna defensively.

"Jenna, just give it a try", said Elena.

Jenna nodded. "What do you have planned for the night? You could join us for dinner if Bonnie decides to go out with Jeremy again."

"That won't be necessary", said Elena. "Caroline already invited us for dinner right here."

"Is Damon going to be there?" asked Jenna suggestively.

"I don't know. Probably. Caroline and Stefan like to keep an eye on him as much as they can", she answered. Taking in the huge grin on Jenna's face she said, "Would you stop that? I don't care if Damon's there or not. I'm going to meet my friend Caroline because she invited me to dinner. End of story."

The two of them paid for their meal and as they got out of the booth, Jenna said, "Well, if anything interesting does happen between the two of you which I'm sure it will, keep in the loop." She winked at her niece before heading to her own car and back home.

Elena shook her head. This was the second time in one day that someone had told her that they thought there was something going on between her and Damon. She found the idea laughable. She wondered if the concept of a guy and a girl as friends was alien to them. She made her way back to her office and slaved away at her next article. Before she knew it, Bonnie was shoving her phone in front of her indicating the time.

Together, they made it to the Grill at exactly 7 pm. Elena was happy to see that Caroline hadn't arrived yet. The two of them sat at one of the booths and were soon joined by Damon and Sydney. "Damon, you know why Caroline's called us here, right?" asked Bonnie wanting to settle their bet.

Damon looked at her quizzically and Elena explained, "Bonnie is convinced that Caroline has some specific reason to ask us to meet her and I think there's no such thing."

"You gullible little child", said Damon amused. "Caroline always has an agenda. It's one of her identifying characteristics."

"Wait a minute", said Bonnie. "You know!"

"I might", answered Damon grinning at them.

"Spill it then", said Elena, looking at him expectantly.

"Why? So Caroline can kill me later? I don't think so", said Damon.

Elena was about to press for more information but stopped when she saw Caroline and Stefan walking towards them. Damon noticed her at the same time and said, "Saved by the blonde."

The group ordered their dinner as Elena and Bonnie exchanged looks. After some small talk, Caroline said, "I know you're probably wondering why I asked to meet you guys here today. I have an announcement to make." Damon knew that she had probably been practicing this little speech since the day she found out. "I've been wanting to tell you guys ever since I found out. I'm pregnant!"

"Oh my God, Caroline", squealed Elena. "I'm so happy for you", she said getting up to hug her friend as did Bonnie.

Damon turned to Sydney and asked her, "Did you hear that? Aunt Caroline is pregnant." He was sure that the good news would distract her for at least a while but she seemed as dull as ever.

"I did", she answered simply as the others watched the exchange between the pair.

"Aren't you happy?" he asked her and she shook her head no. "Why not?" he asked again.

"Because I have no idea what that means", she said with a shrug.

He could hear Caroline giggling behind him. "Damon, why don't you explain that to her", she said. Damon shot her a dirty look and turned back to his daughter and said, "That means Aunt Caroline's going to have a baby. So you'll soon have a cousin. Isn't that great news?"

Sydney nodded enthusiastically. "When can I meet her?" she asked him.

"We're not sure if your cousin's going to be a girl. Either way, it will be at least another 10 months until you can meet her", he said.

"9, Salvatore", Caroline corrected from behind him.

"Why can't I meet her now?" asked Sydney confused. "Where is she now?"

"Yeah, Damon. Where is she now?" asked Elena sitting back down at her seat.

Damon looked around the table and seeing their amusement asked, "So none of you are actually going to help me out here? That's very nice."

"You're the father", answered Stefan. "I'd love to see how you handle this."

"It'll be your turn one day brother. Don't you forget that", said Damon. He felt Sydney tug at his shirt sleeve again and turned back to her. "Your cousin is in Aunt Caroline's stomach", he said opting for the answer he hoped wouldn't raise too many questions.

"That's silly", said Sydney with a laugh. "There's no one in Aunt Caroline's stomach."

Caroline couldn't help but feel flattered. "Thank you, Sydney", she said smiling at her niece.

"I know it looks that way right now but soon, she's going to tummy's going to grow and become big enough", he said smirking at Caroline who decided that being mature was over rated and stuck her tongue out at him. He could tell that Sydney still wasn't convinced. "You can ask Elisa if you don't believe me", he told her.

"Okay", she answered agreeing with him.

"Wow, my own daughter won't believe me", he said feigning hurt.

Soon dinner was served and the friendly banter continued. Damon spared Sydney a sideways glance every few seconds and he noticed that she seemed happy. She had clearly forgotten the previous night's drama, at least for the time being. She didn't participate in the conversation but she definitely wasn't sulking. He figured he was one step closer to having his daughter back to the way she really was. He sent a silent prayer heavenward that things would get better for her from here on out.

-xx-

Klaus was trying to read the newspaper and failing miserably at it. He was too preoccupied with thoughts of Katherine and Elijah. Katherine had come clean to his brother and he had still accepted her. He had spoken to Klaus earlier in the day and explained everything to him. He and Katherine wanted to be a part of Sydney's life now which was great for her but terrible for Damon. His brother was not a malicious person but Katherine definitely was. He wondered what Damon thought about the whole weekend custody thing. He put down the newspaper and picked up his phone. He scrolled down his contacts until he found Damon's number. He contemplated dialling and checking up on him. Klaus owed that to his friend. Yet, he found himself back pedalling. What would he say to him? What would he ask him?

He couldn't ask him if he was okay. Knowing Damon he knew that he was most definitely not going to be okay but he was going to pretend like he was. He could ask him how he felt about Katherine's proposal but he knew the answer already. He could however thank him for keeping the whole affair a secret from his brother but that one little act had probably caused him a lot of hurt and he didn't want to bring that up. So instead of calling his best friend, he put the phone back down and turned back to his newspaper.

The sound of heels on the polished floor caught his attention. "I did as I promised", Katherine said.

"Only because you ran into Sydney and Damon and you had no other way of explaining it away", Klaus bit out. He wanted to at least be polite to the woman who was going to marry his brother but he just couldn't do it. He had seen what she had done to Damon and his loyalty prevented him from being nice to her. "What are you here for, anyway?"

"I have a favour to ask you", she replied.

"You always seem to", he said.

"I know that you and Damon were close. So I was hoping you could talk to him for me", she said.

"What do you want me to talk to him about?" he asked curiously.

"Elijah already told you about asking Sydney to spend the weekends with us, right?" Klaus nodded. "Damon is mad at me and right now he won't let me see her. I was hoping if you could try to convince him otherwise."

Klaus looked at her with a look of disbelief on his face. "I'm done taking your side on this, Katherine. If Damon doesn't want you near his daughter then I suggest you stay away from her."

"She's my daughter too", said Katherine angrily.

"You lost that right when you decided she wasn't worth mentioning when you began a relationship with my brother", said Klaus.

"He won't pick up if I call him and I don't want him to say that I didn't warn him", she said venomously. "If Damon isn't willing to let Sydney stay with us over the weekends, you can rest assured that I will try sue him for full custody and I will make it so that he never gets to see her again."

"And there she is", said Klaus with a bitter smile on his face. "There's the real Katherine Pierce. You must be relieved my brother isn't here. You don't have to pretend like you're such an upstanding citizen."

"Just make sure he gets the message", she said as she started to head out.

"Do you enjoy seeing him suffer?" he called after her. "Haven't you done enough?"

"Believe what you want to Klaus, but I did love him once. Right now I have the chance to get to know my daughter again. I can right the mistakes of the past. And I don't care for anyone who stands in the way of that", she said and this time, she left.


End file.
